Pancreatic Cancer warriors I hope you get great news like me

Congratulations on your terrific news! I know what a warrior you have been! I was diagnosed Dec. 2021 with stage 3
Pancreatic cancer. I was able to have Whipple right away, followed by 6 months of Gemcitabine and Abraxane. Just had a CT scan that was clean, but my marker is rising alot, so I will have a PET scan asap. I'm scared, but I know I have to keep visualizing myself free of this. Meditation helps.
Thank you for your post.
It gives me hope.

My oncologist for the first timer mentioned surgery. How was you surgery and recovery?
If I go the surgery route I will be going into a major Boston hospital that has done many Whipple with a great track record. Praying you’re doing well.

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.

Thanks for the reply. My wife works for a local OR near me and she recommends the robotic surgery as it easier on the body. I will be most like using Dana Faber or Brigham and Women in Boston. I have a doctor in mind for the surgery.
Glad you’re doing well. ❤️🙏🏻

When you say marker-do you mean the CA 19-9 marker? My husband (stage 4) has had 7 folfirinox treatments (at Dana Farber Cancer Institute) and is tolerating them well. For the first 6, the bloodwork showed CA 19-9 decreasing, but on this 7th one, there was an increase. Dr. said it is not always meaningful, and not to get dismayed.... but.... we are. She said only a scan can determine whether tumor is shrinking or growing. We have a scan coming up next week. Any thoughts on whether the CA 19-9 markers are accurate/meaningful trends? That's really the only tumor info we get between the scans.....
He too changed his diet based on various research we did--almost no red meat, (3 times in 100 days), only chicken and fish, limiting sugar since that supposedly feeds the cancer, limiting dairy, and increasing fruits and veggies and fiber. He gave up all alcohol. He is 6'1", and was overweight at 240 lbs in Jan. In 90 days, he lost 55 pounds on the new diet, and is now stable at 185, which is where he should be. Still has strong appetite, but is eating the "right stuff" now. He had high blood sugar in Jan when he was diagnosed, and dr said he had diabetes and had to go on insulin. With the new diet, we were able to decrease insulin by 15% a few weeks ago, and his blood pressure and cholesterol are both down too. I am hoping we can get him off the insulin eventually. Has anyone had any experience with being able to eliminate the insulin after changing diet?

Insulin can sometimes be eliminated with diet and exercise. Keep checking blood sugars regularly. If insurance will cover, continuous glucose monitoring is very helpful with managing insulin. Two most commonly used are the Libre system and DEXCOM system. I am a retired physician, previously specializing in diabetes and endocrinology