Just diagnosed stage 1 pancreatic. Anyone treated without surgery?

Glad your doing well. Thanks.

Each option comes with its own hopes, risks, and uncertainties. Surgery can offer the possibility of removing the tumor, but it is a major operation with a long recovery and no guarantees. Chemotherapy, while challenging in its own way, may help control the disease, relieve symptoms, and potentially extend life. The balance between quality of life and potential benefit is deeply personal.
In my own experience, I was not considered resectable, so surgery was not an option for me. I had no choice but to proceed with chemotherapy. While that path was not what I initially hoped for, it taught me that treatment journeys can still be meaningful, manageable, and worthwhile—even when they differ from our original expectations. I want to make this clear I would have had surgery if I could have. I was in a type 2 trial of the triplet ( Gemcitabine (Gemzar) with nab-Paclitaxel (Abraxane) and Cisplatin (Platinol)** along with vitamin D after that I had 33 days of radio therapy. The side effects are fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, neuropathy (tingling/numbness in hands/feet), low blood counts (white cells, platelets, red cells), appetite loss, and skin issues** I have been on 5FU as maintenance since then every 12 days for 46 hours which requires me to take home a pump. I have lived like this for 7 years

Michael Francis

Thanks everyone for your replies. It's good of you to take the time to reply. Good luck to everyone and again...thanks.

Surgery can be a good choice, depending on your circumstances and, if the surgery can be "robotic", the recovery is much better. My surgery (open surgery removing 70% of my pancreas) was done at City of Hope in Goodyear, AZ (just outside of Phoenix). Dr. Singh is an expert surgeon in pancreatic cancer. I believe he saved me! I am now back home in Oregon doing GemCap. My scan last month showed no signs of metastasis. My next test will show what kind of progress I'm making...
I am 74 and always thought myself pretty fit & healthy. My surgery was a long one because they couldn't do it robotically. But if it's an early stage for you, you might consider a robotic pancreatectomy, sooner rather than later. What works for one person may not be right for another...
Best of luck to you!

Personally during a normal CT scan for a hernia in June ‘23, I was told that I have a cyst on my pancreas. An EUS showed nothing suspicious and my CA-19 numbers were 15 and 16. I am being monitored @ Mayo Rochester, MN every 6 months and now every 9 months - with no changes.

Currently I have no symptoms.

My respectful ask to you all….especially for those diagnosed with Stage 1 or Stage 2,…

1). what symptoms did you have before being diagnosed?

2). Has anyone had the ‘new’ blood test that supposedly will replace the CA-19 test as it supposedly is more accurate?

3). Does anyone know if a person can request it, especially at Mayo?

Thank you.

@mikewdby, I believe you are referring to the early detection blood test developed by Ajay Goel, Ph.D., of City of Hope Duarte Cancer Center in California. Read more here:
- Blood Test Accurately Detects Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2024/liquid-biopsy-detects-pancreatic-cancer

I can help with you question 3).

The High-Risk Pancreas Clinic within the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, serves as the hub for pancreas cancer screening in people at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Read more here:
- Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection Research Program https://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/pancreatic-cancer-early-detection-research-program/overview

I would ask your doctor at Mayo Clinic about the blood test.