@akhealth15
I had surgery last January after initial diagnosis in July ‘24 and chemo until December. One surgeon wanted me to have radiation treatment to maximally shrink the tumor before considering doing surgery. The surgeon I went with strongly discouraged radiation because the tumor was wrapped around some vascular and radiation would make the vascular reconstruction more difficult/more likely to fail. So no radiation in my case.

@akhealth15
Diagnosed in December 2024. Had 12 chemo gem/abax treatments, finished in July 2025. No shrinkage of tumor which was abutting SMA and encircling SMV. I chose to have 5 Treatments of SBRT radiation in the hopes of being eligible for Nano-knife procedure if tumor shrank by at least 25%. I had follow up CT scan 2 months later and tumor had shrunk by almost 50% and I was back on track for the Whipple surgery. There was a rush to get it done because of possible scarring from radiation. I had the Whipple surgery December 4th. The surgeon was thrilled with the results, said it was very clean. I am healing well and will not require any post surgery chemo or radiation. Will follow up with CT scans and surgeon appointments every 3 months. I had my chemo in my area, all other treatments at CPMC in San Francisco. My cancer was acinar cell carcinoma, approximately 4 x 4 cm at diagnosis. I'm 78 yrs. young. Every one is different
I recommend getting as much info as possible and asking questions.