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radiation begins next week
So my friend came through surgery ok, healed up good etc..got set up for radiation beginning next Wed...for 5.5 weeks.. he'll also be doing oral chemo along with that... his oncologist is concerned because his CA 19 numbers had increased back over 2k..so he's HOPING between the oral chemo and the radiation that will take care of it...
i suspected they might have gone back up some due to the fact the surgeon told us when we met with him afterwards that it had reached a couple of lymph nodes..but i never expected it would have increased that much...
is that normal? has anyone ever had anything like that which has come up?
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My sense from reading many threads is that this is sadly common - pancreatic cancer is sneaky and difficult to eradicate.
While I am not a medical professional, continuing on chemo for as long as you can stand it - maybe even continually - could be helpful. I don’t think based on what I have read that CHT then CRT then Whipple is the end of treatment - continuing chemo may be advisable.
Hi Momma candy,
I have atm mutation, distal pancreatectomy, 1 lymph node impacted, clear margins and did 12 rounds of fulfirnox chemo and ended with a CA19-9 of six. My drs said I was cancer free which I was so hesitant to believe (rightly so)! It came back in my liver and my ca19-9 quickly climbed to 3840- very aggressive my new UCLA oncologist said. Since January of 2024 I’ve been on GAC chemo and my liver lesion has shrunk and the other lesion didn’t show up on my last scan. I have nodules in my abdominal peritoneum which are stable and oncologist think it’s cancer but it was difficult to get a good biopsy on. Just saying you may be an outlier, but pancreatic cancer cells can be difficult to beat so get a 2nd opinion to make sure you are going at them with everything you can handle. Best wishes for you and your friend.