@yellowdoggirl1 ,

Your first discovery of pancreas offers your best opportunity to avoid a bad outcome, so I would not accept "waiting 6 months" unless the current round of tests has __definitively__ (*) ruled out pancreatic or other cancer.

Disclaimer #1, re: ^above^ (*) -- Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but as reasonably "definitive" as practical.

Disclaimer #2: I have zero medical training.

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You should definitely be getting your second opinion lined up, regardless of the results phone call you should be getting tomorrow.

If it takes a while to get into another specialist, there are some other tests your primary care doc(s) could order sooner; whether they will or not is a different question, but CA19-9 should be near the top of the list. It's not definitive or diagnostic of anything in particular, but higher than normal levels are often associated with pancreatic cancer, and probably warrant closer investigation if they correlate with your other symptoms.

If your liver enzymes have been high, repeat those tests as soon as practical. In my case, they accompanied a bile duct blockage caused by a tumor in the head of my pancreas, which preceded the onset of jaundice (yellow eyes first, then yellow skin, then itching).

Genetic testing is also helpful, but not necessarily urgent. A "germline" test like "Invitae" can identify any inherited mutations you have that might make you more susceptible to certain types of cancer. The results could be helpful in determining your risk and the appropriate level of screening, as well as possible treatment if necessary. A primary care doc could order this, but would often defer to an oncologist or genetic counselor. However, having the result sooner rather than later is always preferable to me.

Hope you get the best news possible tomorrow!

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