1. < Pancreatic Cancer

Celebrating Life after Pancreatic Cancer!

Posted by marvinjsturing @marvinjsturing, May 9, 2019

Today is May 9. Five years ago, on May 9, 2014, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Two days after my diagnosis, my wife and I went to church with our son. On that day the pastor preached a sermon on Romans 8:28. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” As we left church that morning, we did not know what the future held for us, but we were assured that God would be with us. Three weeks after preaching that sermon, the pastor's wife died of pancreatic cancer. When I told my boss that I had pancreatic cancer, he was concerned because his father died 6 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My Whipple procedure was done on June 5, 2014. On that day, my brother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He lived for another 20 months before the cancer took him. Two years ago, my cousin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died 10 days later. My grandpa died before I was born, but last year I found out that he died of heart failure a few days after having surgery for pancreatic cancer. When I was diagnosed, the 5-year survival rate was 5%. Now it is 9%. Today, by God's grace and because of the help I received from the doctors and nurses at Mayo, I am alive and celebrating life!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Pancreatic Cancer Support Group.

sofiadide20 | @sofiadide20 | Sep 12, 2022
In reply to @amandajro "Hello @sofiadide20 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I wanted to bring your post on your..." + (show)
@amandajro

Hello @sofiadide20 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I wanted to bring your post on your dad's post-treatment journey into a discussion that I noticed you had previously joined and commented.

I think you can both celebrate life after pancreatic cancer and also connect with others who are on the other side of their journey, like your dad is, as many others may be experiencing or may have experienced similar trailing symptoms and might be able to provide you with support for your dad.

Would your dad have interest in joining Connect himself to connect with others like him?

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My dad doesn’t speaks English and right now I don’t think he is emotional ready to have an open conversation with others

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pendesk8 | @pendesk8 | Oct 28, 2022
In reply to @sofiadide20 "Hi everyone, I been reading some of your stories and you have no idea how much..." + (show)
@sofiadide20

Hi everyone, I been reading some of your stories and you have no idea how much they been helping me in helping my dad. My dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer December 2021. They said it was stage 1B and that it didn’t spread anywhere else. He started chemotherapy right away. We thought that chemo was gonna be devastating but it wasn’t that bad for him. He is 65 with no other mayor health problems other than a history of blood clots so he is been on blood thinners for over 15 years. Chemo actually took care of the back pain and all the other issues he had prior to cancer diagnosis. He did 8 round of chemo and some radiotherapy prior to Wipple. He was better than ever before the procedure. He got his surgery august 15, he is now home recovering. The tumor was negative of cancer, everything they took was cancer free. However my dad is having a hard time recovering. Everything is going good according to the doctor but I can see that my dad is getting frustrated. He feels weak, and he has a sense that he will never get his life back. He goes to the bathroom a lot that’s the main issue he is having. He spend over 2 weeks at the hospital and it’s been almost one month since surgery. How can I help him? I would like to share with him some of the stories to see if that will give him hope. Will he feel better eventually? Thank you so much in advance

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I am considering the whipple procedure but this makes me wonder.I have read there is a 2 month recovery and have found that they are now doing it by laproscopy which improves the recovery.Problem is you have to find someone that does it that way.Mayo clinic does but that is too far for me.Tell your Dad to hang in there.He made it this far and he is now at the end of treatment,praise God.

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pendesk8 | @pendesk8 | Oct 28, 2022

Praise God,I am looking for a testimony like this.Just wondering,how long was recovery from the whipple procedure and do you have any problems from it.

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mayoconnectuser1 | @mayoconnectuser1 | Nov 18, 2022

This isn't about a god - it is about the millions of health care professionals, the science oriented doctors and the doctor scientists - they are the ones who have studied and worked their entire lives - for generations - trying to understand and stop this disease.

Thank them - praise them.

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sprinter345 | @sprinter345 | Nov 19, 2022

I pray for God to guide them and am grateful for their brilliance and dedication.

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lvtexas | @lvtexas | Nov 20, 2022
In reply to @pendesk8 "I am considering the whipple procedure but this makes me wonder.I have read there is a..." + (show)
@pendesk8

I am considering the whipple procedure but this makes me wonder.I have read there is a 2 month recovery and have found that they are now doing it by laproscopy which improves the recovery.Problem is you have to find someone that does it that way.Mayo clinic does but that is too far for me.Tell your Dad to hang in there.He made it this far and he is now at the end of treatment,praise God.

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I have read that after Whipple there is an adjustment to your diet that is needed. Keep a food journal, talk with your doctor. A nutritionist might give you some do’s and don’t s. And, yes, you will get your life back and be whole again - that is the goal. Bless your doctors and praise God you have reached the other side of healing.

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