Advanced pancreatic cancer
A forum for advanced pancreatic cancer issues.
398 topics in this forum
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Only 1 week left with my dad
by root- 18 replies
- 17.5k views
So yesterday I got the call I had been dreading from my mum asking me to come down as she felt dad was close to the end. He has gone downhill quite suddenly. Can't get out of bed, sleeping lots, vomiting black bile, very little urine output. Nurse from hospice came to assess him and says he has just a few days left with us. I am so sad but just want him to be at peace. Ive been dreading this moment for a year and I can't believe am about to loose my very dear Pops.
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- 14 replies
- 12.1k views
Hi all. First of all, I am so glad there is a place to read up on things and to feel there is support out there... a big thank you to everyone who contributes here. My mum, who was until recently a picture of good health, at 74, was diagnosed only yesterday. From what I understand (she lives abroad) she has a tumour on the outside of the Pancreas but it has wrapped itself around the blood vessels to/from the liver. Initially I thought it would be 'good' news that it was external to the Pancreas but apparently on Holland, where she lives, the doctors do not / cannot operate on tumours affecting these blood vessels as it would be 'tantamount to murdering her'. I a…
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- 5 replies
- 8.7k views
Hi everyone I've been with dad this weekend and he is not well at all. He cannot keep any food down - banana, soup...nothing of any substance and this is not new but considerably worse. He has no appetite for food at all and Dr's have said he is anorexic. He is taking fluid but not in any great amount. He spends much of his time sleeping but when he is awake he is lucid and can get up for a while to talk or read, though he has no energy to do anything. He is so skinny and looks pretty awful. He is nearly a year into diagnosis. He has no known spread to any other organs but Dr's stopped chemo 6 weeks ago and are suggesting a course of steroids -dexamethasone. It…
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Jonathan's final performance 1 2 3
by Cathy- 73 replies
- 48.6k views
Hi all, I cannot describe how sad I am to let you know that my wonderful, kind, funny and talented partner, Jonathan, finally lost his fight against advanced PC last Friday afternoon (10th Jan). Jonathan was diagnosed 12 Dec 2012 with PC that had advanced to lymph nodes, liver and abdomen. Amazingly he had had few symptoms and looked really well. Folfironox started Feb which he tolerated well (tho hated, mainly due to fatigue and tingling) and he completed his last cycle in June. He was lucky as he was pain free after the 2nd cycle and remained free for some time after. We managed a 2 week holiday in Corfu in July where he swam and enjoyed lots of mythos and won…
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- 7 replies
- 9.6k views
Hi all. Dad was diagnosed in January with locally advanced PC after a failed whipple attempt. He had a billary bypass and was until recently on gemcap for palliative chemo. He stopped treatment 3 weeks ago as he thought some of his symptoms may be due to chemo. However, there has been no noticeable improvements. In fact things have gotten slightly worse. He is throwing up mainly bile when he tries to eat ( and what he eats is very little - maybe 400 calories a day) he belches a lot and has hiccups fairly frequently. My concern is that I thought the billary bypass would prevent this symptom?? 2 months ago his cat scan showed no spread of his cancer and it was still contai…
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How long and how much will mum suffer 1 2
by Mum2three- 30 replies
- 22.6k views
My mother was diagnosed only a few short weeks ago after months suffering pain, being unable to eat and ending up bed bound. Her diagnosis was missed by a few doctors although I had suspected that cancer would end up Being involved. It was a shock though, when the diagnosis finally came, when we were told nothing could be done and survival for six months would be very optimistic. Chemo was discussed but my mother was so ill and weak and treatment would make her worse for very little gain. That and the thought of losing her crowning glory made it seem not worth while to her. My mother came home from hospital with strength of mind and determination, she never cried wh…
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75 y/o Grandma told 4month to live...High BM
by Jinglish10- 8 replies
- 8.7k views
Hi, my Grandma has been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and no treatment is available. She claims to have no pain (not sure if she's just being brave), she has the weight loss, and just this weekend has became Jaundice. She was in hospital last week with Blood Sugars of >30, the hospital have now given her a low dosage of insulin and sent her home? Her bloods are 14 in the morning and >23 on an afternoon/evening? Could anyone suggest what bloody sugars have been like in others or what is normal for someone with Pancreatic Cancer? My whole family are lacking in information on what signs to look for? Is this a journey to weakness, bed bound then demini…
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XXXtreme Thirst!! Stage IV "terminal"
by jbistrong- 8 replies
- 12.4k views
My brother is 1 year out from his initial diagnosis. He's had a whipple surgery initially, and then a double intestinal bypass a month and half ago. The surgeon reported that he saw cancer all throughout his stomach and said we'd need a miracle. He opted out of chemo because there was no way he could handle it and they said the best it would do would be to add a few months of life. We have already reaped full benefits from conventional medicine. They have already sent us home to die 4-5 times and have absolutely nothing more to offer. We've been to multiple facilities and seen multiple doctors. Standard protocol seems to be to not touch anyone at his stage in his con…
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Hereditary PC
by Neg73- 3 replies
- 6.5k views
I lost my father back in February to PC (66 years old), along with my paternal gran the year previous to PC (87 years old) and much earlier my great uncle (57 years old). I have been in too much pain to deal with the reality of a familial connection and was offered no advice from GPs. I decided recently to research it myself and have pushed for a genetic consultation in local hospital and also have registered with EUROPAC. Has anyone else been in this situation? I promised my father as he died that my sister and I would not endure this awful disease and we would research all possible prevention. I have made huge changes to my lifestyle but am aware that familial PC h…
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brushing it under the carpet
by daddys girl- 3 replies
- 6.6k views
My dad was diagnosed with pc three weeks ago after 6mnths of him going to his gp something was wrong he went to a&e several times but was turned away now he's been given 6mnths to a year I'm finding this particularly hard as he's all I've left I'm only 32
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I am lost
by Anila- 5 replies
- 7.4k views
I miss my dad. I want to see him for the last time but I know I can't. Finally managed to say something. I have reading posts and information for some time now but didn't have the courage to write anything. My dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October last year and it has also spread to his liver. Now he cannot eat much and his face is swollen a lot. Why is that? I live in UK with my family but my parents are in Albania. Health care or palliative care is almost non existent there. Patients are just left on their own. I found out that Sue Ryder had an office in Albania and approached them. They have helped but I still feel I should have done more. I have back to …
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Folfirinox.... Stroke ??
by Lucyloo- 3 replies
- 7.1k views
This is my second post, my 66year old dad has been given 3 months, and we are about 7 weeks into the time, (he had pancreas removed 12 months ago, but cancer has showed up in liver and lung) decided he would take folfirenox with a mix of 2 other chemos I think... Can't think of names, it's to help with symptoms and possible more time, he took one dose, about 11 days ago, and was quiet unwell, we came away for a couple of days about 4 hour drive from home, on Saturday my dad lost movement in right arm, stoke like symptoms, and was admitted to the local hospital, being a long weekend we are only meeting with doctors today, symptoms have gotten no worse, all we now want is h…
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Devastated 1 2
by charney- 46 replies
- 37k views
Hi I can't believe I'm posting this, after losing my mother in law To this disease over a year ago my husband 54 has been diagnosed Today . We are numb and just in total shock. Hunting the internet Fir options it is inoperable and after reading David s post re nano knife Would like to know more Cheryl
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Losing Mum.
by Urban Tangleweed- 14 replies
- 10.5k views
Hello all. My Mum was diagnosed with advanced Pancreatic Cancer last weekend, and as far as we currently are aware, it is likely advanced and inoperable. She may only have a few weeks left. We are so desperately out of our depth with this, and the learning curve is so dreadfully steep, but we are coping, just. We have no option. She will soon be released from hospital and will go into a care home for what time she has left, I understand we will get details of where she can go, we then will visit them all and make a decision on which one she will go to. If anyone can offer guidance or advice as to how we choose the best one for her, it would be gratefully appre…
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Abraxane status?
by Lisajb- 16 replies
- 14.3k views
Hi I saw that there was mention of Abraxane being approved for nhs use in a post earlier in the week but I can't find anything about it when searching. Can anyone point me in the right direction please? My sister has had two cycles of Folfirinox but has been so unwell and lost so much weight - down to less than 6 stone, that the consultant has said that she must stop the furry fox and switch to gemcitabine. I am aware that the trials of gemcitabine and Abraxane achieved a small but significant increase in survival over gemcitabine alone and I would like this to fight for this chemo to be considered but need some more info. I am very grateful for any pointers. Thanks…
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- 8 replies
- 10.7k views
Hi everyone, so glad to have found this forum. I wanted some advice/opinions on my 69 year old dad. He was diagnosed with PC last October after he started showing signs of jaundice and bowel problems. He went through an MRI and Ct which showed what doctors thought was a small cancer in the head of the pancreas. As such they believed him to be eligible for the whipple procedure. After 3 months of no treatment he went for surgery 6 weeks ago and on opening him up they found the tumour to be larger than they had thought and wrapped around the portal vein. Therefore they carried out some kind of by-pass surgery to the stomach. There was at this point no evidence of any spread…
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PICC line excellence
by cestrian- 7 replies
- 7.7k views
I have had my PICC line installed this morning and cannot praise my nurse too highly. She took great pains to make sure I was at ease with the procedure and comfortable in myself and then explained every step of the installation so that I knew exactly what was happening throughout. I did not even experience the slightest discomfort and am now receiving the first dose of Oxalaplatin. Again all the possible symptoms have been outlined along with methods of alleviating them. Fingers crossed they will be minimal!! On the downside my blood tests revealed some impaired liver function but at least the chemo could go ahead, presumably on the basis that "Things can only get bet…
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How much longer will he suffer.
by Neg73- 24 replies
- 17.9k views
I'm new to this support group and just was hoping someone could give me some advice as am at my wits end. It's 3.10 am and this is the second night my sister and I are with my dad who is in the final stages. He was diagnosed on the 23rd of December with PC and has spread into his liver. He had a stent put in on Wednesday and we were hoping for some borrowed time. However, he has deteriorated rapidly and we brought him home to die at his request. Support from hospital was excellent and he has had a driver for medication as he can't drink much and hasn't eaten for a week. As all of you who have gone through this witnessing of suffering of a parent, it's unbearable. …
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Help.
by kwaitang- 13 replies
- 10.9k views
My husband has inoperable pancreatic cancer. Chemotherapy has been suspended. He recently also had a heart attack. This was treated successfully. He has to take blood thinning tablets every day as well as injection to stop blood clots in his lungs (been on that for 4 months). He has been told to take a disposable aspirin daily. About a week ago he started to have pain behind his ribs and really bad headaches and feeling sick, to the point he has to go to bed. I rang a district nurse and she said to take 2 paracetamol 4 times a day. Up to this point Keith only took them when he was in bad pain - we didn't know he should take them all the time. Anyway the rib pain has …
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Starting a long long journey 1 2 3
by davidandsam- 69 replies
- 46k views
Hello to all I have been sitting in the wings for a few weeks now watching with amazement how the members of this forum pull each other together! From big hugs to logical advice and experience it has been a real inspiration for me. My story like so many others started with a bit of back pain, a slight stomach ache, a little fatigue and then “WALLOP” fully blown stage IV inoperable Pancreatic cancer with liver mets, Marvellous !! I have been a keen triathlete for a while now and even managed a decent finish (50 +) in the Henley Triathlon this year. You can imagine my despair when I found out the worst, less than four weeks after this achievement. How can this happen…
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I am furious. 1 2
by kwaitang- 30 replies
- 24.4k views
My husband was diagnosed with non operable pancreatic cancer and has had 3 months of chemotherapy and trial medication. Today he went for his 3 month scan. While we were there we went to have a word with our case nurse about approaching the Heidelberg hospital about treatment there. He was very enthusiastic and I was dlighted about that. He then started to go through our case notes and mentioned the size of the cancer on Keith's pancreas. He then told us the size of the 2 cancers on his liver ---WHAT !!! We did not know that he had cancer of the liver !! We had been told about the pancreas and lymph nodes but NOT the liver. The nurse was devastated that we fo…
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Hi..from a newbie 1 2
by Lels- 26 replies
- 19.8k views
Hi everyone, I joined this site a couple of weeks ago and have spent hours reading through your posts and replies. I thought it was time to say hello and to get more involved. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 PC with mets on the perituneum in April this year. I went to the doctor with lower abdomen pain and my blood test came back a bit iffy. I was seen very quickly at the hospital and the CT scan revealed my worst nightmare. I had already lost my Dad and Brother to Cancer. My chemo regime is Gemcap once a week for 3 weeks then a week off, I am due to start cycle 6 next week with a CT scan at the end of the month. I also receive palliative care from a hospice, a nurse and…
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Thanx Very Much Coronation Street .... 1 2
by marie souter- 44 replies
- 31.8k views
Well am not very happy, mom has made it clear that she doesn't want to know timescales for her inoperable cancer, shes 5 mths into diagnosis now ... switch on coronation street ... Hayley .... how long .... 6 mths without Chemo 12 mths with ... WELL DONE ... am so mad .
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Mum's journey on Folfirinox so far...
by Kerri9499- 8 replies
- 11.2k views
Hi all. On the 10th November 2013 my amazing, beautiful Mum was diagnosed with PC. After a week of feeling as though she had food poisoning and then 3 more weeks of lethargy, weight loss and quite simply just feeling 'not right' she was finally coerced into seeing the doctor. She then admitted that she was getting pale fatty stools, lots of belching and a bit of intermittent shoulder blade ache. Within a few hours she was asked to go to the hospital as her blood tests had shown high blood sugar levels and slightly abnormal liver function. At this point they thought it was diabetes. An ultrasound followed the next day in which they thought mum may have a gallstone, this…
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One hell of a day.
by kwaitang- 13 replies
- 10.2k views
Well it's 2am. One hell of a day. Had to send for an ambulance for Keith as he was in so much pain. Paramedic arrived first and gave him all sorts of things including morphine. Ambulance arrived and took in to hospital where they are keeping him to monitor him. Heard from the hospital that does Nanoknife but they said that the cancer is far too extensive for them to treat. I haven't told Keith. Sent off to Heidelberg and will wait to hear from them. Also will write to the cambrdge institute at addinbrooks as they are hoping to start new clinical trials in the next 6 months. I know I am wasting my time but it may give hope to Keith. Only thing is how do I tell him if…