Family, friends and carers
A forum for family, friends and carers' of pancreatic cancer patients.
649 topics in this forum
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My Mum
by Lou- 5 replies
- 4.8k views
25 November 2010 we took her to hospital with suspected infected gall bladder or gallstones, scans, examinations done...... 26 November we are told she has cancer...and that it is advanced but they don't know where it started from. she has several scans through December. 23 December they tell us it started in the pancreas, then spread to her liver.... 27 December we take her to the hosiptal as she has developed a bad chest infection, they do chest x-ray and they tell us there is patch of pneumonia. 28 December another scan of the cancer affected areas...consultant tells us the size of the cancer has doubled in just 3 weeks 31 December, Mum passes away peacfully in …
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Message for Ladywood
by Nardobd- 21 replies
- 12.9k views
Hi - I thought I would start your "own" thread - it's easier to keep track that way. I'm so very sorry to hear the news about your sister and I fully empathise with you - most of us are completely shocked by the diagnosis. When my hubby was diagnosed it took about three weeks just for the news to sink in before we could start dealing with it. We were very lucky, having a great GP who immediately recognised that there was something seriously wrong with Ted but I've heard similar stories about people being misdiagnosed time and time again. The difficulty arises because the symptoms of pancreatic cancer can also arise in many other less serious diseases. It's also r…
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Merry Christmas
by pauline- 4 replies
- 4.4k views
Hi All thank you all so much for your continued support over this last 18 months or so........ I wish you all a very very merry Christmas and a very happy new year thinking of you all love hugs and kisses Pauline xXxX
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- 9 replies
- 7.1k views
Hi, My mum was diagnosed on 14/05/10 We she had lost 4 stone was in more or less constant pain, and her blood sugars were sky high. By the time we got the diagnosis she was so weak from needing insulin, (which her doctor would not prescribe) that she had to be taken into the hospital by wheelchair, and kept falling asleep throughout the appointment. Just over a month later, she has gained a stone in weight. Due I think to Creons helping absorb the food, and stopping diaorrhea , and having insulin. My mum is the third in her family to have this terrible disease, but we still do not know what to expect as her younger sister died twenty years ago, after fighting for aroun…
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Pancreatic Cancer
by ilg- 4 replies
- 4.2k views
Can you help me please? My father was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer 3 months ago. It has spread to his kidney, adrenal gland, spleen and liver. I have asked several medical professionals what we can expect to face over the next few months he has left but nobody seems to want to tell us. I keep being told that people learn to cope with what they are faced with as it happens but I would like to be prepared for what might happen. I know everyone is different and my father might not suffer from the same things as someone else but it would just be useful to know what others have faced. He already has the start of fluid and his stomach is swelling. He also feels as th…
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Experience request.
by Jackjo- 9 replies
- 6.8k views
Hello everyone, I am Jackie, another new member to this board. My Mum was diagnosed last Monday (22nd November) finally after a series of tests and months of visiting the Drs, seeing multiple locums and getting nowhere except told it was poor management of diabetes, IBS and all the stuff that it appears many on these boards have experienced. It has been due to my sister and I pushing for more tests and paying for a private consultation that we finally discovered what we feared all along last week. We are devastated. The only bonus has been that our instincts have made us push it this far and that in some little way we are a bit further ahead of the game than we could have…
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Dealing with the tragic death of a loved one
by millyjo- 10 replies
- 7.2k views
Hello everyone, Since the loss of my mum, and during her illness I have been an avid reader of all the posts on this site. I haven't contributed much, but nevertheless my heart and thoughts have been been with everyone. This is a terrible disease in so much as prognosis is difficult, treatment is limited due to it's aggressive nature, and life expectancy is short. I read everything I can about the disease, and because my mother, her sister and their mother died of this I fear it may be genetic. I'm paranoid about going to the doctors anyway, but to ask about this and my chances of suffering as they did is surreal. I constantly check my urine, my faeces as my ma did wh…
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good results with gemcitabine
by lahug- 2 replies
- 4.1k views
hi everyone.i have not been looking at the forum for a few weeks. in the midst of dealing with my aunts pancreatic cancer,my father died. he was 72yrs old and we are devastated. my aunt has completed 7 wks of chemo.her main side affect was extreme fatigue and no appetite. when commencing chemo she had a 3.8 cm in the head of the pancreas and 7 spots at approx 1cm each in the liver. at the meeting discussing her results yesterday, she had wonderful news. 7 spots on liver has now become 1 spot, and pancreas tumour has gone from 3.8cm to 2cm. gemcitabine chemo resuming 3 dec with 3 wks on and 1 wk off and so on. i would appreciate it if anyone could give me their opinion …
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Having a bad day
by jordan- 3 replies
- 4.3k views
I lost my wonderful mam in december to pancreatic cancer (which had spread to liver )she started chemo in the august but was too ill to carry on with it and decided to stop and try to make the best of what time we all had together.We all have lovely memories and very special times together.I miss her so terribly as we were best friends also.i saw her everyday,and my children and husband worshipped her.I know shes out of her pain and at peace but i miss her so.
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Pancreas or liver? confused
by chelle- 2 replies
- 3.7k views
Hi everyone, I hope i am not on the wrong board. Dont really know what im saying or doing today to be honest. My mum has taken unwell over last 3 weeks, with a drastic change from what she is usually like (fit, healthy, eating like a horse, full of energy) Ok, it started as i say about 3 weeks ago, she had alot of belching, and really bad pain in the centre of abdomen right under breastbone, and slighlty to the sides, but not definate right or left if that makes sense. I can only tell you vaguely as she is not very keen on letting her true pain show (stubborn beyond belief,lol) So, she went to docs, who decided it was heart burn, put her on meds for that, and wit…
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Both Carer and cared for.My Story.
by richiebirch- 8 replies
- 7k views
Greetings All In December 2000,our wonderful Mum was diagnosed with PC.She had a "whipple" in January 2001,but unfortunately passed away in the September of that year.She left 4 children of which i am the oldest,and a devastated husband.Throughout this painfull journey Mum displayed incredible courage and continued to support us untill the end of her life.Knowing that time was limited, I took time off work to be with her as i had moved away from home some 20 years prior to another part of the country.This proved to be one of the best decisions of my life,as the time spent with Mum, and brother and sisters,although incredibly emotional has stayed with me to this day.By th…
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coming to terms with it all
by Higgsy71- 17 replies
- 11.4k views
Hi My dad passed away a week today. He was diagnosed with Ca Pancreas 3 weeks ago and we were actually sat with the Oncologist on the Friday before. Dad had not been right for about 9 months - nothing specific - feeling full, upper abdominal pain, etc. Back and forth to the GP. 8 weeks ago he went tothe GP and GP had done blood tests - all normal - but I noticed his abdomen was distended (I'm a nurse in A&E) I spoke to Dr's I work with and they saw him and admitted him. He was constipated - given enemas - didn't work - had CT scan which showed 'something' on the pancreas, although they never told us. Communication has been so poor. 3 Weeks ago a Dr saw my dad and s…
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new to board - my story
by haze1uk- 20 replies
- 13.6k views
It was been a few weeks now since my life has been turned upside down and I am now ready to write, but I have been looking at this site a lot. My Mum has recently been diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas and has spread to her liver and both lungs. We had the diagnosis two weeks ago and prior to this was jogging around the block with her personal trainer, out all of the time, very active and very social. She has suffered for a while about various non specific aches and pains and was admitted to hospital on the suspicion of gall stones or a liver infection, but then we got the bad news. She is only 57 and it scares me to see how much she has deteriorated in this time.…
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- 4 replies
- 5.3k views
Hi After the support I received from this board a few weeks ago, I wanted to let you know that my mum died peacefully in her sleep on 29 October and we had her funeral on Wednesday. I was in a dilemma as to when to go and see my mum and in the end went a week earlier than I had originally planned. This gave me the opportunity to talk to my mum which was great. By the end of that week, when my aunt and sister arrived, my mum was sleeping nearly all the time and it wasn't possible to have a conversation with her. She stopped eating and drinking 5 days before she died and was sleeping nearly all the time, interacting less and less each day. Her breathing became ver…
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- 6 replies
- 8.9k views
Hi My mum was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April and by then it was inoperable and had already spread to her liver. She did follow a chemotherapy programme for a while and had to stop because she wasn't coping with the travel to the hospital. I think the last session was about 4 weeks ago. She has developed clots in her lung and lower legs and diabetes and has suspected internal bleeding caused by the cancer. She is in constant pain and is now being given pain medication intravenously. She is now in a hospice and is very weak. She hasn't eaten for 3 days because of constant nausea and her sleep patterns are disrupted. My dad is visiting her daily and is…
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An angel went back to heaven yesterday
by haze1uk- 5 replies
- 4.9k views
last night at 10.30pm my beautiful mother was taken from us. She left peacefully in sleep in in a very dignified way after a very short illness. She suffered no pain and went holding my Dad's hand. Her last words were how much she loved us. The cancer had spread from pancreas, liver and lungs to her bone marrow. She also had pneumonia. She was only diagnosed on 9th august. She was aged 57. her name was Linda and will always be the best Mum in the world. A huge hole has been left, but the memories will always stay. xxxxxxxxxxxx
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diagnosis timescales advice
by moby_67- 3 replies
- 4.3k views
Hello all, So many moving and inspiring words on this forum, it’s an excellent and helpful resource. My dad (60) has just been diagnosed, ive had the initial shock and upset stage and am now in a strange limbo situation where it doesn’t seem real anymore. I am looking for some guidance on what to expect from the hospital. He fell ill with jaundice pains etc 5 or 6 weeks ago, had an ultrasound which couldn’t see anything so was waiting for an appointment to see a specialist. In the meantime he became more ill and in serious pain and went to hospital on 20 September. They did scans and tests and diagnosed on Wednesday 23 September, a stent was fitted on Thursday 24 a…
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We Have Support
by Ellie- 6 replies
- 4.6k views
Hi everyone I have changed to a new topic as I want to be positive and "More bad news" was a negative title, so here I am updating from last week when Brian was in the hospice. Brian came home on Monday and his pain has been much better since his stay. Taking steroids, plus increasing his patches to 250mg, seems to have done the trick, although he is still using OxyNorm morning and evenings, when the pain is there again. The hospice gave us a discharge pack, which had a contact number, all Brian's history written down, and some stronger liquid Oxynorm which can be used in a syringe if ever we have to get a doctor in during the night because of serious pain. Just…
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More Bad News 1 2
by Ellie- 27 replies
- 17.7k views
Hi everyone Brian saw his doctor at the hospice today and got the results of his scan. The cancer has now spread into his spine - into 5 places, to be exact. No wonder he was suffering so much pain! It was a big shock to us both, but fortunately his case will be discussed tomorrow at our hospital, with everyone there who needs to be involved, to decide what to do next. It sounds as if they will consider radiotherapy to reduce the pain, with some sort of drug given by drip at the hospice. I've had a quick look at the Cancer Research info on secondary bone cancer and it seems radiotherapy is quite successful at reducing this sort of pain, with not too many side eff…
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Will it return ... ?
by emcee46- 6 replies
- 8.2k views
Sure this has been answered before, but, as my partner enters her (so far) successful 'last' session of chemo and moves on towards probable radiotherapy, I'm starting to research these further stages and would be really interested to hear this forum's views. The two major questions I have formulated so far would be:- 1) Even if surgery is finally recommended here, I have this nagging feeling that this MAY aggravate the 'thing' somewhere along the line that makes it come back with a vengeance in times to come - by maybe having dragged the tumor out of her body leaving active cells to multiply wherever they may have touched; 2) Even given that this simply doesn…
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where can I get counselling?
by lynbo- 4 replies
- 4.7k views
Does anyone know who I may contact to maybe get some counselling? my head is all over, lost my husband on 23rd aug, and have had no input from hospital, he was 39, I am 34, no children and I am only child. I have fab friends and family but I need a professional? I think? xxxxxxxxxxxx
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new here
by pamela- 1 reply
- 3k views
hello all, I have been looking at the posts for months now and with Nicki's help[thank you Nicki] am able to post. I lost my dad to pancreatic cancer in May this year,he was diagnosed in December and didn't have any treatment as the surgeons[he saw two] told him they could only help with the pain.Up until this point my dad had been a strong determined man and supported and gave good advice to those around him.I didn't want him to give up but he was suffering so much and the decision was his.I am heartbroken and hurt,dad and I were close.I wish I could havedone something,I was with him in his last few moments when he went peacefully.He was 67. This illness is so cr…
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CNS - clinical nurse specialist support
by PressWatch- 0 replies
- 2.8k views
Nothing here. Presswatch
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Seems so quick!
by Leah- 3 replies
- 4.3k views
Am really hoping I can get some help and advise, Bascally my grandfather is 81, had a panc tumour discovered incidentally on CT he was totally asymptomatic. It was removed via a Whipples in feb which he recovered from well (discharged 10 days later). The tumour was T1 N0 M0 so we thought and were told he was very lucky that it was found so early. He then went on to have chemo which I think was the standard course. Had pretty horrific diarrhoea so after 3rd course was told risks not worth benefits as he was at lower end of risk of reccurance. He has gained some weight and is generally well. However he has as had pain in area of liver for over a year (pre cancer diagnos…
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Introducing myself
by Suzz- 14 replies
- 8.1k views
Hi, my name's Sue and I'm 49. Our family's world was shaken apart when on 10 March this year, we found out that my husband, Phil, 50 has Pancreatic Cancer, which is stage IV, ie to his liver. I've been through all the emotions, anger, denial, resignation, but feel like I'm living in limbo. I know full well that Phil's cancer is terminal, but a tiny part of me hopes that a miracle will happen. He's having palliative chemotherapy, and it is definitely making him more comfortable. At the moment, I'm taking one day at a time. I have to bury my head in the sand about what I know in my heart of hearts is going to happen, but it's hope, however miniscule, that's keepi…