Hi!
I was very fortunate to have the Whipple first before chemo. I was stage 3 pancreatic cancer. I had a tumor and 8 malignant lymph nodes, but they were able to get everything and borders were clean.
I had the Whipple done at a hospital in Albany and my surgeon was terrific.
Very experienced I. Performing Whipples.
He did it robotically, so I had about 7 incisions. But it was easier to heal from multiple smaller incisions. I was in the hospital for 3 days. Maybe should have stayed another day, but was ready to go home and my surgeon was ok with it. I was pretty bruised up for quite a while after, and my body looked elliptical where they partially removed organs. I also had to inject .myself everyday for 21 days with something that prevents blood clots.
Are you on creon yet? If you have the whipple, you may very well have to take creon to help digest food. I think the really tough part, and continues to be a bit tough, is digestion and sometimes having to be near a bathroom. I have always been a walker, so I made sure to get out and walk as soon as I could. Figuring out what to eat was a little difficult. Since then, I have switched to a primarily plant based diet, and started using weights to regain muscle.
For me, I feel like I healed much more quickly from the Whipple than from chemo, although I still have pain around the place where the most scar tissue is. I hope this helps you. If you choose surgery, you'll get through it. Though I dont know you, I'm proud of your strength in getting through all of this so far.