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New, overwhelmed: What's microsatellite stable?
Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: Aug 27, 2023 | Replies (17)Comment receiving replies
Welcome @mommacandy. I know this is overwhelming. It sounds like your friend is in good hands with you helping to navigate these confusing new terms and appointments.
In layman's terms, a pathology report may mention the tumor's microsatellite stability or instability to see what type of treatments would be recommended. You're right that it is related to DNA.
This article explains:
- What is microsatellite instability? https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/what-is-microsatellite-instability-MSI.h00-159617067.html
At this point in the diagnosis phase, it is too early to declare this as good or bad, and your friend's team is still gathering information about the tumor. What it indicates to me is that the team is being thorough. The more information they have, the more tailored the treatment plan will be for the type of tumor.
As you know being a thyroid cancer survivor yourself, this is a good time to start writing your list of questions for the upcoming meetings with the surgeon and medical oncologist. You can scroll to the very bottom of this page on the Mayo Clinic pancreatic cancer webpage for a starter list of questions to ask https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pancreatic-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355427
How is your friend doing with this news?
Replies to "Welcome @mommacandy. I know this is overwhelming. It sounds like your friend is in good hands..."
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he's up and down...he's an amputee vet (7 tours each of Iraq and Afghanistan and multiple other places) but because he's not an American vet he's not covered by our VA...which MIGHT be a good thing in this case from what i know from my other vet friends lol...
he has said repeatedly he's not afraid of death, he faced that every day on the front lines.. he just always thought it would be one of the 3 B's that got him...a bomb, bullet or blade, NOT a C ie cancer...he is in tremendous amts of pain (they have him on morphine 2x a day which in his words barely takes the edge off) and is struggling...mentally he's going up and down...sometimes he's talking about the next part of something he wants to get for his reenactment hobby then couple hours later he's looking at gravestones...so its really hard to say..
he'd said for MONTHS something was wrong but docs kept blowing him off.. ended up with acute pancreatitis which is how they found the "lesion" as that hospital called it when it measured 2 cm x 2.3 cm...ended up going through 2 more different hospitals before someone said HEY wait a min, this needs checked ASAP by a BIG teaching hospital...that doc told me to skip the local gastro person he had an appt with and she sent the referral straight to oncology at UVA...
one thing i've found VERY interesting is he started having seizures bout year and half ago after a fall, which is why he ended up in the 3rd hospital in July for an extended EEG and they decided they were "psychogenic" and ever since the diagnosis there's not been a SINGLE seizure...so i'm seriously convinced it was his mind trying to get medical to realize SOMETHING was wrong... anyways, i just wanted to reach out and HOPE someone could explain more before i have to go face doctors and not have a clue what to ask etc so thank you and any and all advice is greatly welcomed...compared to his, mine was nothing...