Pancreatic Cancer UK

Not nice to talk about I know! I can only say what has helped me in the past, which is: Don't eat much ( or any ) fat the day before the walk; Take a dihydrocodeine or other opiate tablet the night before and/or in the morning to slow down peristalsis. We went walking last week in Suffolk and I was ...

Dear Bec,
I'm so sorry to hear your dreadful news,
it all seems to have happened so quickly.
Sincere condolences to you and your son at this sad time.
Anne

Haven't seen any flowers yet - the leaves are all up and we keep looking.
You beat us to it and we're down south!

Hello Jim, I'm pleased to see that your chemotherapy seems to have made you a possible candidate for surgery. I had a Whipple's procedure in December 2010 and since I had had a distal pancreatectomy in April 2009 it was a completion pancreatectomy - in other words I have no pancreas. As a result of ...

Hello Sue, I had a Whipple's in December 2010 and had already had a distal pancreatectomy so now have no pancreas. I use the 10,000 unit Creon capsules. I take a maximum of seven with a meal and two or three with a snack. This adds up to 15-20 a day. You must take the Creon with your food and the re...

Hi Sooty and Laura, I don't think there is a 4,000 capsule so it's more likely to be the 40,000 capsules. I use the 10,000 unit capsules and take up to seven with a meal and just two or three with a snack. Seven is 70,000 which is almost the same as Brian's 75,000. I've always liked the lower dose c...

Hi suef, Yes there certainly can be life after a Whipple. Well done for walking the Hadrian's Wall Path. I had a Whipple in December 2010 following a distal pancreatectomy the year before. Now, with no pancreas at all, I have a good life and although I haven't walked as far as you, not in one go, an...

Dear Drew,
I'm so sorry to hear the news about Heather.
Heartfelt sympathies to you and your family at this sad time.
Anne

Hi dmc, There is some information here: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/vitamin-D#q8 ( Point 10 ) but apparently the evidence from two studies is conflicting. One says that people with higher levels of vitamin D have a lower risk of pancreatic cancer, the other shows no effec...

Mike, I think you need to contact support@pancreaticcancer.org.uk

if you would like to be put in touch with someone.

Anne

Hello Mike,
I'm glad to see you have joined this forum, too.
You will get lots of help and advice on here and it is
always encouraging to read other people's stories.
Best wishes,
Anne

I had my Whipple's at the xx which has an amazing team of surgeons.
It wasn't laparoscopic but I understand the xx does carry out the laparoscopic procedure.

This is worth looking at:

http://www.royalfree.nhs.uk/default.asp ... ews_id=774

Anne

Hi dmc,
I have just been reading about the "Spyglass Test" at:

https://www.sphcs.org/TechnologiesSpyglass

It sounds great - non-invasive and not requiring X-rays.

Anne

Hello dmc, I used to find with my IPMN that I didn't need Creon all the time. A pattern developed like this: 1. I would have pain and steatorrhoea which indicated that the mucus produced by the tumour was blocking the main duct and pancreatic enzymes weren't entering the duodenum. I would take Creon...

Hello dmc236, I'm sorry to hear that you have a suspected IPMN. After seven years of pancreatitis with no obvious cause, it was discovered I had an IPMN in the tail of my pancreas. This was removed along with the distal pancreas and spleen in April 2009. Unfortunately, after about a year, I develope...