Recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Still reeling.

Hello @raff and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. It is certainly understandable that you are reeling after receiving a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Mayo Clinic is well known for cancer treatment. You mentioned the Jacksonville campus, do you live near there?

If you would like to schedule an appointment with any of the Mayo's campuses, here is a link with appointment information, https://www.mayoclinic.org/appointments, They will most likely be able to answer your question about proton therapy, etc.

There is a current discussion group on Connect that you might find helpful, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pancreatic-cancer-group-introduce-yourself-and-connect-with-others/. The members in this group have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and you will be able to read about their experiences.

If you are comfortable sharing more about this diagnosis, it might help me to connect you with other members. For example, how long ago were you diagnosed? Has the cancer been staged?

Contact University of Florida's proton therapy treatment center in Jacksonville if you're interested in going that route. I understand it's the most advanced.

Yes uf has a good proton therapy center. However they don’t have a specific pancreatic surgeon on their “ team”. Mayo and md Anderson seem to have the best approach. And if proton therapy is needed we’ll cross that bridge. Thank you for the input though, we appreciate it all so much.

If you're in Florida there's also Moffitt Cancer Research Center in Tampa. They have several oncologists and surgeons specializing in pancan. Moffitt is a National Cancer Institute pancan specialty center. It's easy to get seen very quickly. My wife got her second opinion there within days of requesting an appointment.

Thank you. We did look into moffitt but we didn’t want to relocate as it’s almost 5 hours away. My husband wanted to be home by friends and family.

Hi @raff, how are you and your husband doing?
I wanted to answer your original question. Mayo Clinic's campuses in Florida and Minnesota are designated by the National Pancreas Foundation (NPF) as approved NPF Centers — a recognition for high-quality, multidisciplinary care. Mayo Clinic's proton beam facility at the Jacksonville campus is currently under construction.

If proton beam therapy is recommended by Mayo experts for your husband's care, then the team can work with University of Florida department or Florida patients can choose to have proton beam therapy at the Rochester, Minnesota campus.

I can understand your husband wanting to be close to home and near friends and family. That circle of support is as important for you as for him, right?

Thank you for replying. We have decided to go with MD Anderson. Our military insurance is not accepted by Mayo. I am still watching the Mayo group. Lots of people to chat with.