Pancreatic Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others

My name is Phil.
I 69 years old. Diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in June of this year. Had a successful Whipple procedure at end of June. Now halfway done with Chemo therapy. Stage III . I keep loosing weight was 245 before surgery at 185 now.

Hello:
I am a 54yr old male in SLC, UT. I went to the emergency room in April 2022 for upper abdominal pain. After several scans and tests the doctor felt I had an infected Gallbladder which was removed, but other test results showed a large tumor on the tail of my pancreas. After being released from the hospital I was immediately referred to a much-respected surgeon that thought I had a neuroendocrine tumor. However, after completing a Dotatate PET scan, the tumor did not light up meaning it was not neuroendocrine tumor. Next, I had an endoscopic biopsy. Again, the tumor showed benign and even the GI doctor that completed the procedure personally said to me "It’s not Cancer". I was so happy to hear that, but the original surgeon I was referred to, was still skeptical. He said the only true way to know if the tumor was cancerous was to remove it and send it to the pathologist. I was given the option of removing the tumor or waiting a few months to do another scan to see if the tumor was growing. I decided to wait a few months and when I finally had the second scan, the results showed the tumor had not grown. After further dialogue with my doctor and getting a second opinion, I elected to have the tumor removed on 9/29/2022. During the process of removing the tumor the surgeon hoped to complete the distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy laparoscopically and robotically. Unfortunately, there were some complications during the procedure and they had to stop the laparoscopic procedure and open me up to complete the surgery. When the results came back from the pathologist, my doctor informed that two of nine lymph nodes showed cancer cells and I was now in stage III cancer. I can’t explain the feelings when you hear "stage III pancreatic cancer". I was devastated and hurting for my mother who was at my side when I got the news. Four weeks after my surgery I'm home recovering. I still have a drain tube coming out my back due to excess fluid buildup internally, but I'm also having a difficult time sleeping and I can’t help but think of what's going to happen to me, my family, my job, my home, everything. Like others, I turned to the internet for more information on pancreatic cancer, which is even more depressing. I stumbled across this website, which after reading several posts makes me feel like I'm in the right place to connect with people going through similar challenges.

The ultrasound turned up the liver nodule, which led to the recommendation for the MRI.

So the EUS is different from an endoscopy........... Did the EUS see the cyst or how how does the EUS check on digestive tract?

Sorry for the questions just this would help me.

Thank you so much1

what test found the nodule on the liver?

FDR= First Degree Relative

Thank you so
Much for your response. I do have an MRI every 6 months or a year. I’m just so worried about the cysts. What do you suggest to check on the cysts closer to see? I have read about the different kinds of cysts. I just do not want to find out later that I’m in stage 3 or 4. The more you read about PC most people don’t know until later stages. I’m 58 years old and just want to make sure about this situation. Doctors are fine but they get so busy and sometimes not answering the questions.
Thank you!!!!!

My journey has been similar. I went for an ultrasound in 2021 to explore why I was losing weight without trying. A nodule was found on my liver, so an MRI was recommended. The MRI showed the nodule to be insignificant, but a cyst showed up on the pancreas, thought to be an IPMN in the main duct. I had the EUS and it did not show any malignancy. Doctors decided to review in a year. In 2022, the MRI revealed that the cyst grew just slightly, but the duct around the cyst had dilated noticeably. So, I had a distal pancreatectomy in July 2022, and cancer was found in the vicinity of the IPMN, but had not spread beyond the pancreas. I am a Stage 1b pancreatic cancer patient now, on my third round of chemo. I think those IPMNs can be tricky.

Asking the same. I was looking for information on cysts, as I have 3( one supposedly burst or deflated) and they are called IPMN. They were discovered when I had a lung scan that discovered a nodule on my liver. Then I had an MRI of the liver, that determined that the nodule was nothing, but they found the cyst on my pancreas. Then they did an endoscopic biopsy that determined they were not malignant.
I have an MRI with contrast every year as a follow up. The Dr told me they will eventually become cancerous but hopefully not until my nineties.

What is FDR? I have some cysts on my pancreas. My doctor said they are okay. How do they know they are okay?