I had tests done this morning at Mayo - Rochester to see how things went after radiation. I met with my oncologist this afternoon to talk about the results. The blood tests showed that my kidney function was down to 15% (for me, that's pretty normal). The blood tests also showed that CA 19-9 has gone down. The PET scan showed that the tumors on my pancreas and the surrounding lymph nodes have grown in size. It is possible that this is a result of the radiation. At this time, the plan is to monitor things by doing CA 19-9 tests monthly. If it remains steady or continues to go down, I will wait 3 months before getting another scan at Mayo. If it starts to increase, I will have to go back to Mayo sooner. If future scans show no change in the size of the tumors or if the tumors shrink,  I will receive no treatment. We will just continue to monitor things with quarterly PET scans. If the tumors start to grow, I will need to start chemo. Because of my kidney problems, if I receive chemo,  I will also have to have dialysis after each chemo treatment.

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