Ductal adenocarcinoma, colloid (mucinous) type

I was diagonosed with moderately to well-differentiated mucinous adenocarcinoma in Oct. 2022. It was found early because I was having bloodwork tested every 3 months. In Oct. 2021, I found I had a 4 pound ovarian cyst that had wrapped around my colon. I had surgery to remove this. The surgeon said I had mucinous cancer cells in the cyst & in both ovaries, everything was removed and I didn't need any further treatment. Thankfully for having my blood tested there was a red flag on my cancer markers. At this time I'm stable, I have a 3.5 cm mass in the tail of the pancreas & 2 lesions on my liver. I didn't have any pain, jaundice, or other signs either. I mean a person has pains in the side, back or other places but you don't think cancer. I was told my pancreas showed signs of having had pacreatitis, which I don't understand what that is. I was told my mucinous cancer is a slower growing cancer. I also had never heard of mucinous cancer before. My surgeon told me that if you think of mucus or snot that is what this mucinous cancer is, it isn't solid. If your mom is feeling physically well & hasn't had any symptoms, this could be a positive thing, but you need to have her oncologist explain more about her cancer. As I have found out, everybody is different & can react differently. So sorry to hear that your mom has cancer on the liver & lymph nodes. I will read more of your comments to see how your mom is doing. Take care.

Thank you so much for your comment, it contains valuable information for me! I am very sorry that you have to go through this, but it is good that you’re stable and that the cancer is slow.

Seems the mucinous type is quite rare. I am just hoping that chemo works and my mom holds on. Maybe in a year’s time there will be new treatment options available already.

I'm glad I was able to give you some helpful information. Thank you for your concern. I was surprised when I was told the mucinous cancer was rare. I thought oh great! I had been trying to find out more about this cancer, online & through books at the libarary. I have found some info online, but even if you type in the full name, etc., other names of cancer show up. It can be frustrating. I have found it has helped me talking about my cancer with other paitents & family. I have gotten insight & encouragement when discussing this with other paitents & it is kinda like therapy, I don't have to keep it all in. I hope your mom is doing well. It all depends on what type of chemo she will get. She may be able to handle the chemo, it all depends on her chemistry & makeup. Hang in there! Take care.

My mother had her second chemo and got out of the hospital yesterday. She feels some weakness, but otherwise is doing surprisingly well. Also, the fluid stopped coming out and they took out the drainage that was connected to her stomach.

I learned today that her doctor was planning on doing three chemos. I wonder if there’s a specific reason behind that? I have read from this forum that Folfirinox is usually done as 12 sessions...

I thought I would share some updates on my mother. Today she finished her 7th Folfirinix session. They did a CT scan after the 6th one. It showed that the cancer hasn’t grown larger, but it hasn’t decreased either. It showed numerous small lesions in liver and lesions in both lungs.

It was somewhat surprising to me that the cancer hasn’t decreased in size, because before starting her first chemo, she had some physical signs that have disappeared with chemo. She used to have coughing attacks at nights, but these are gone. She could feel some nodes above her belly button, but these sensations have disappeared as well. Also, she hasn’t lost weight, but her belly has gone very flat. The fluid was building up in her stomach, but it hasn’t come back anymore since it was taken out. Considering all this, I was hoping that the cancer or the lesions are decreasing in size. How to explain the disappearance of these symptoms?

Also, I’m wondering if it is possible that the mucinous cancer is not that aggressive, since she has no symptoms regardless all the lesions? In august, the doctors predicted that my mother won’t make it through November. Now it’s December and she is shoveling snow like crazy, doing sports, etc.

Although she is feeling so well physically, she often seems sad. I just feel so bad for her, because every day she is mentally preparing herself and us for her death. I would be so happy, if I could find some piece of information about this condition that we could cling on and be more hopeful...

One more thing - the CT scan showed that the cancer has not invaded lymph nodes after all.

@capricorn24 Your mother is a perfect example of doctors not always being right. Sounds like she has gotten significant relief, for whatever reason, and I wish her the best.

capricorn,

I may have asked, already - sorry if I have.

Is your mom being treated at a center of excellence for pancreatic cancer?

Some oncologists change from Folfirinox to Gencitabine when not seeing the response they expected with Folfirinox regime ... was this discussed?

So, she has experience ascites?

We are actually located in Northern Europe and unfortunately we don’t have centers of excellence here. However, my mother’s oncologist has worked in the US for some time.

Gencitabine has not been discussed. Is it possible that Folfirinox might have a greater effect after 12 doses, maybe it just hasn’t had enough time to have the full effect?

My mother experienced ascites and it’s only then she felt that something’s wrong and turned to the doctor.

From my mother’s experience I have understood that CT is not very reliable and every doctor interprets the results differently. When she had the first CT, the doctor in charge said that there is one met in one lung and that there are benign hemangiomas in the liver. Her first oncologist said based on the same CT that there is no met in the lung. Then she was given another oncologist, who said based on the same CT that there are mets in both lungs, liver and lymph nodes (which turned out to be not the case regarding the lymph nodes).

To conclude, my mother has received very mixed information and we feel confused. She sees her oncologist in every two weeks for about 5-10 minutes. Unfortunately she doesn’t really want to ask any questions. I think it’s because she’s afraid she’ll be given more bad news. I just wish we knew more about the mucinous type and how it can change my mother’s condition.

I love that your mom is feeling better and even shoveling snow! I love shoveling snow (or at least I used to). You're right--it can be very tricky to get consistent info from all the MDs involved in your mom's case. I know all of the radiology reports on my CT scans seems to vary in thoroughness and detail. You're also correct in that CT scans can't see everything. My oncologist told me the scan couldn't spot anything less than 1.5 cm; I've seen online that it can't spot anything less than 1 cm. That could potentially skip some mets. It also seems like radiologists interpret scans differently, and it's difficult to get any consistency. So I understand your frustration.

I'm glad her MD worked in the United States; that might help with regards to training and experience. Can her MD consult with his/her former colleagues in the US? Or is there any way your mom can travel to another country to obtain a second opinion? Perhaps she could get CDs of her scans and consult with doctors elsewhere to see whether she can gain some clarity about her situation. In any event, I would be thrilled with what appears to be her progress in terms of comfort and energy level. I hope your online searching yields more info on the mucinous type. Best wishes!