@sma5802 , very sorry to hear about your diagnosis.

Are you able to obtain the most relevant records yourself, and hand-deliver them, FedEx them, or download them from your current doctors' patient portal and email them directly to Mayo?

Mayo shouldn't need to get your entire life's history in order to start; mainly just the ERCP report plus recent blood tests and imaging discs since you became symptomatic.

Some insurance companies and concierge medical service memberships (MDVIP, SignatureMD, etc) have expedited referral pathways to specialists like Mayo, and expedited collection of records. That may be another option to explore.

I don't know what stage you were diagnosed at or if your local docs have recommended chemo as a first treatment, but that would be a very common plan. If that is the case, I assume there would be no harm in getting a chemo port placed locally to have that out of the way (NOTE: I am not a medical professional and say that with zero expertise other than my own experience with PDAC.).

I was extremely frustrated trying to get my dad into Mayo for treatment with his cancer. The local docs and labs diagnosing him knew he had malignant cells in tissue and fluid samples but kept bungling the tests, unsure whether it was mesothelioma or a lung cancer. We hoped we could just get into Mayo ASAP and have them sort it out, but they're so specialized no doc there would see him until the local docs pinned it down exactly.

Since they've narrowed your case down to the pancreas, I doubt it matters as much, but Mayo might want to assign you a different oncologist based on exactly what type of pancreatic cancer it is (PDAC, Acinar Cell Carcinoma, etc).

Cleveland Clinic is also listed by the NPF as a pancreatic cancer center of excellence. I've not been treated by them, but did have one consultation with them earlier in my journey, and was fairly impressed they could have done a good job. I'm not sure if that's a viable option for you. Depending on the stage and treatment you need, a good center closer to home might be appropriate. A lot depends on how often you would have to travel to Minnesota (or Florida or Arizona) and how feasible that is. Some doctor visits that could easily be done by video teleconference are not "legal" when done across state lines -- a very unnecessary complication, but a real issue to consider.

I wish you the best with everything!