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Recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancerous tumor - awaiting PET
My 70 yr old father in law became ill around thanksgiving with chronic diarrhea; thought it was the flu, started to loose lots of weight, tired, became jaundice; finally got appt at GP and they did MRI that showed "tumor" in pancreas; GP referred to Mayo took a few weeks to get appt over Holidays; loosing more weight; sleeping all the time; more jaundice; gets consult, take him off blood thinners; then put stent in to open duct to liver to liver; find cancerous tumor; xray chest - looks clear; schedule for PET next week to see if cancer has spread anywhere; if all clear then he has to gain weight, have chemo to shrink tumor, and then surgery to remove. Any insights on how family can support him through this process and what to ask Dr's and look out for. Thanks in advance
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Yes thank you he is surrounded by 3 of the 4 kids that live near by and a devoted wife ; Hopefully they have figured out why he had no desire to still eat after the stent and perhaps the gall bladder puncture was the problem all along... This morning he says he is having his first meal in days so lets hope for the best this time... around and he stabilizes then I think he will be more willing to fight this...
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1 ReactionI'm glad to hear that he has a lot of support, @minimia. I hope, as you do, that if he begins to eat and feel somewhat better he will be able to better tolerate the treatment that will be necessary.
Will you post again and let us know how he is doing?
Need a hail Mary - blood infection so bad - they can not fight it - sending him home till his time comes
I'm so sorry. Hoping you receive a miracle.
Dear @minimia, this must be tough to accept. It would seem with modern medicine that it would not be a "mere" blood infection that would be insurmountable. But infections are insidious. What instructions and/or medications did they offer to get him comfortable? Comfort care is so import. Do you have access to palliative care or hospice?
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1 ReactionAgree, I feel like modern medicine is a joke... How can they not have an antibiotic or something like a blood transfusion, dialysis, etc.. to fix this... How come they sent home last time for I suspect this may have been the cause of the last collapse... I am not sure about comfort - he is at peace with it, its hard on the family, especially since they have been saying this was curable... Booked a flight for my husband
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1 ReactionHello @minimia
I am so sorry to hear of this insurmountable infection. How very sad for your father-in-law and your entire family.
The comfort that Colleen, @colleenyoung, mentioned that is provided by Hospice and/or Palliative Care has to do with physical comfort for the one who is ill as well as emotional support for the family. I can personally attest to the helpfulness of hospice care that I experienced recently. They can provide with meds to ease the pain, nausea, and/or anxiety that your father-in-law might be experiencing now or in the next few weeks. I would encourage you to consider it.
You can always make a call and meet with a hospice intake person and then make a decision based on your interview.
Wishing you peace on this journey.
Feeling hopeless and that the Medical system has failed to save a great man..... How can they send him home and not be able to cure a blood infection? Why did they not figure this out sooner?
I am one week post op after having part of my pancreas removed and all of my spleen. After I heal I will start start some chemo/ I am just so happy to home in my own bed. They need to do something about the sucky beds at least at my hospital the entire stay I never slept more than a few hours total in each 24 hour day.
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1 Reaction@minimia How are you doing? Thinking of you and your family.
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