Pancreatic Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others

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After almost 3 years of fighting this disease I noticed theres a point where the physician no longer sees the ability to overcome this as possible. Those are horrible words to hear and I'm very sorry you have to deal with that now. I can see that just as frustrated as we are to fight our disease, so the physician becomes frustrated as well and no longer sees us as a person, but as another failed statistic. It's hard on them too and they can become insensitive. There is the rare case where the physician wants to push for your own good and not for their own case studies and recommends procedures that are not of the typical SOC (standard of care). I heard about histotripsy through this site and when my soon to be oncologist mentioned it as part of her speech at the Pancreatic Walk for Cancer earlier this year; no dr recommended it to me; it was my sister and husband reading up on it that pushed me to do it and,it had positive results. We got the fight in us and we are a cohort pushing through to extend our lives and we can gain this through this online forum by sharing results until a cure is available. Party on Garth!

My current oncologist said now it’s like shuffling chairs on the Titanic.
Boom.
After a few days of hearing that over and over in my head I am now looking for another physician. I refuse to be a number in the lobby cattle call.

Sorry meant to say that my mutation is resistant to cancer. Don’t know how to edit my comment.

So sorry to read this. I am of the same mindset that once your oncologist writes you off they just do the standard protocol. My original diagnosis was promising stage 2 and no Mets with surgery after chemo. Given what I had heard about PC I was thrilled I may have 3-5 years after chemo and surgery. Bad on my part to not inquire as to the possibilities of this not working. Now none of this is an option and my years turned into months. A real gut punch to say the least. I wasn’t even told about my mutation being nonresistant to chemo. I read that online after research. Praying for all those fighting this beast!

Hello, my name is Jim. I'm 78yo and was diagnosed with stage 2 PC in May 2023. My treatment plan called for 8 chemo treatments (every other week) then Whipple followed by 2 more chemo's. After the 2nd treatment my CA 19-9 levels were below normal so my oncologist recommended we stop chemo and go directly to surgery. After 7 hours the surgeon declared, "We got it. We got it all!" Followup chemo was canceled. Naturally I was overjoyed.
Then in May of this year a routine CT uncovered PC in my lungs. Devastating. What's more, after 4 rescheduled chemo treatments my oncologist spaced my treatments 7 weeks apart claiming it's to improve quality of life. I don't handle treatments well but I can certainly handle it monthly. So we'll see. Having said that I feel fine. No pain, have a good appetite and no weight loss. Lost all hair, have a severe cough and extremely fatigued. In short, I don't know where I stand. I think my oncologist considers me doomed and offers nothing in alternative treatments. Looking for answers.

Please let us know about your recovery. Hoping all went well. Rest and heal.

He needs enzymes. Creon is one of the most widely used enzymes that will help your husband digest his food and eliminate the orange stool.

If Mayo takes too long to get your appointment scheduled, then call MD Anderson in Houston TX. You need not wait for an oncologist.

Good luck on the surgery!