Has anyone been able to have surgery for tumor in the tail?

My husband had ⅔ of his pancreas (the tail end) removed about 10 months ago. The recovery from surgery was long and slow. His lymph nodes and the surrounding tissues and organs were not infected. There was a debate later about whether the cancer had metastasized to the liver and the abdominal bed where the resected part of the pancreas used to be - the jury is still out.
He was on Folfirinox for 1-½ months and markers kept climbing. Side effects were also terrible - from nausea to loss of appetite. He switched to Gem-Abraxane with a new oncolologist and he took very well to it. Only major side effect is fatigue and some depression. Hair grew back and CA-19 markers dropped to normal range and stayed stable with minor fluctuations. He has been on this regime for 8 months now and oncologist is not stopping.
We believe in prayer but we also believe in taking action and using medical science to "heal". It is very comforting to read in this support group the names of all the drugs, and the stories that are so familiar. I hope your husband got his surgery because we sought several opinions and surgery followed by chemo was the way to go.

I’m sorry to hear that surgery is not an option for your husband. But it sounds like you’re on the right track with his care plan and my prayers are with you both that he gets into the trial in January.

I too have stents because of pressure on the ureter; have had one replacement surgery and another is scheduled for October after 4 months from the last one. As reported before, I am 84 yrs old, had the Whipple 16 months ago and radiation this July for the "mass" blocking the ureter. No more chemo (my choice mostly) but I will line up for the pin point radiation in the event of a new potential metastatic tumor (if my doctors agree that's an option). At my age, every good day matters and I am enjoying them as I feel normal. I have blood work and a cat scan every 3 months--always a tense time.
Sounds like a sensible and caring suggestion to spread out the treatments.

Thank you for that information

I am on gemcitabine & Abraxane. 30 minutes prior to them I get Aloxi & Decadron IV. I did 44 treatments the first round. Started out 2 weeks on and one off then went to every other week after several months because I was feeling very fatigued. I probably should have taken a "break" way earlier than 44 treatments since my numbers went to 8 in Feb of 2023 and then very slowly increased. After 6 chemo treatments this time the CA 19-9 went from339.7 to 44.7 🙂 So far my worse side effects have been peripheral neuropathy to my fingers and feet & weight gain. Small price for staying alive 🙂

That’s is very positive information. Can I ask what chemo you were/are on? After one treatment my husband had embolisms and 2 heart attacks to unsafe to use 1st line (Firinox) chemo. So when safe they are changing his to Gemabr

Thank you for your response. We are looking at "Living" with this also. Your information gives me a more hopeful outlook..

My cancer is stage IV in the tail & is not operable. The not operable part is not due to it being in the tail. Mine has shrunk to "no evidence of disease" but the not operable part is due to it has already left the pancreas & metastasized to my lungs. I will always have this cancer. There are times I will have a good CA19-9 and CT scans & can take a break from chemo, but I must be vigilant with following up every three months with those tests to see if it is trying to come back. I wish you & you husband the best. I have been alive for over 2 years now & had a 4 month break & am back on chemo looking forward to my next break!

Thank you for your response. We had an interview with an oncologist at Mayo, and surgery is not on option. No research trials are open at this time for the issues my husband has with this cancer. The treatment he is doing is shrinking the cancer, but it was decided, with the oncologists counsel, it may be a better quality of life if we spread out the treatments to every three weeks instead of evert two. There maybe a trial open for him in January. So, we are praying we get that chance.

I’m sorry for the late response; I just saw this now. I had a tumor in my pancreas tail that was removed at Mayo Rochester on 12/1/23. Prior to that I had 11 rounds of 5FU locally (Chicago area) and then did 3 weeks of chemo radiation at Mayo. Then about 6 weeks later had the surgery. The surgeon also removed my spleen, gallbladder, and some cysts on my pancreas. They checked 11 lymph nodes and all were clear. Margins clear too and NED. My only regret is that I wish I had started at Mayo earlier. They had tests that Chicago hospitals didn’t.