Pancreatic Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others

@anne7573217 "I can't diagnose you, but I can encourage you to advocate for yourself and be firm, this needs to be checked out." Yes, and soon. I was very lucky to have my acinar cell pancreatic cancer diagnosed at the ER.

@snydermark1 Hi and welcome to Mayo Connect. Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. How are you feeling? Are you on any treatment?

I feel good for the most part. I’m on chemotherapy every other week. I developed a DVT in my left leg, so I’m on Eloquis and a skin rash from one of the chemo drugs which is being treated with Triacinolone cream and Prednisone. I am at the Mayo which is the best place to be.

@snydermark1 Thanks for the update. What chemo are you on?

I was diagnosed, initially, with a 4.5cm Neuroendocrine tumor on the tail of my pancreas in February of this year. The first of March I had the tumor removed along with a partial pancreatic resection, splenectomy and 19 lymph nodes removed. After the surgery, the pathology report showed it was actually a rare Mucinous Colloid Carcinoma. All margins were clean with no metastasis. My surgical oncologist and medical oncologist were both unfamiliar with this type of cancer so they both recommended a six-month round Chemo. I received a third opinion from the head of the GI oncology department at our Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Fortunately, she was well versed in my particular cancer and recommended against the Chemo. I ended up on Creon for Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. Have had a rough time with my GI and fatigue. Also experience frequent (daily) episodes of feeling flu-like symptoms but with no fever or other signs of being sick. It's been 4.5 months with no improvement. I have seen GI, Endocrine and Oncologists with no real diagnosis or direction for helping with the fatigue and feeling ill. Hoping to find others with similar experiences to maybe gain some insight.

My name is Daniel, I’m a 57 y.o. man living in North Texas. I went to the ER on Father’s Day 2026 with , what I thought, was dehydration. They ended up finding a malignant mass in my common bile duct and a spot on the head of my pancreas. I was then transferred to Methodist Richardson, where Dr. Jayarajah performed a Whipple procedure. Everything happened so fast and I was really not sure what exactly was going on. All I knew, at that point, was that I did not have a lot of options. Now I am 3 weeks post surgery and had my first follow up with my surgeon yesterday. Apparently, the procedure was a success, all the cancer was removed. The next step, from what I understand, is to undergo some chemotherapy. Everything is happening so fast. Im struggling with eating and maintaining weight and energy right now. I have started walking in the mornings and trying to do my best to recover from such a procedure. But, I’m not going to beat around the bush, I’m struggling with my digestion. The cramping can be so intense. He gave me Creon yesterday, but I’m still terrified to eat because of the dumping and the cramps. I’m hoping that this will subside soon. I know I’m only 3 weeks post surgery, but I also know I need to eat.
Reading through these posts has been a blessing. Thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences. This has given me some much needed encouragement. God bless

@dab1127 hi, I have pancreatic cancer an it’s been one year and I’m finally doing the creon 25. I tried regular creon before an it gave me bad stomach ache. So talking to nutritionist an I guess because I lost a lot of weight going thru exactly what your going thru. So I guess because I’m 83lbs she put me on croon 25. I’m assuming that’s a lower dose. Anyway first nite was fine. Next day wasn’t so crampy when I woke up and bowel movements were getting brown instead of pale so I take that as a good sign. Last nite not so good but I pushed it an had fried chicken wings. It still went thru me even after Creon so I’ll go back to starting with better food. But the cramping will stop once you get started like it did for me. Good luck and you don’t know until you try.