Dear Victoria,
My prayers for you so that everything goes well. I was diagnosed just at the beginning too and had Whipple operation. I had chemo first for 6 months and i followed advice to keep exercising and being fit for the operation. Yes, it was a long operation and I also had my spleen removed. I stayed in the hospital 2 months because of fluid in my back. It was hard to take so many painkillers. What I find it harder is that after it took me 6 months to start feeling better and been able to move around much. The hardest thing I find is how to deal using the Creon enzymes which is hard to know the amount that is suitable for a particular food. Life gets better. Spent a lot of time having different nutritionist but that just told me that I was eating well. Eating is hard for me, bloating and nausea and dizziness.
It has been now 2 years since Ive been diagnosed, CT scan show no changes but my cancer markers are getting a bit high. So now we are on monthly check up. I follow now a gp who practices alternative medicine but also chinese medicine, have a naturopath because I take antibiotic everyday and I was lucky to find that in New Zealand there is a company which makes probiotic that I can take everyday and is compatible with Phenoxymethylpenicillin.
Injection B12 every 3 months, multi vitamins everyday, iron infusion once a year.
Have courage, you are younger than me, I suppose, you will make it. God is always with us. I practice Heartfulness meditation everyday and that is my guidance and lessens my worries.
God bless you and hope you have a very good and humane surgeon. By the way i am from down under Australia. Sorry for any mistakes and is late at night.