Just checking in

[Didge]

Hello Everyone. Have been reading your posts a bit more recently and it's nice to know there are people to contact who can offer support. My bf was diagnosed at the end of Sep, operated on end of Oct and has just started gemcitabine but has to have a break after only two doses due to an infection. Got a feeling I'm going to need this forum in the months to come. Happy New Year to you all!

[marie souter]

Hello and welcome to the forum Didge. So sorry to hear your loved one has this awful disease. You will find the nurses a valuable source for info on here and everyone is great at giving a shoulder to cry on..please feel free to vent anytime.

hugz

Marie

xx

[Slewis7313]

Hi Didge and welcome to the forum. You will indeed find loads of good information here with people having experience of many different scenarios relating to Pancreatic Cancer. The fact that you mention your boyfriend has already had an operation sounds promising, though your story will no doubt become clearer as you bevome more involved in conversations with the lovely people here.

Likewise.... enjoy your New Year as best as you can and good luck in 2014

Steve

[cestrian]

Hi Didge

Welcome to the forum that you will find a great source of support and information as many of us have "been there got the T-shirt". I do hope that your boyfriend's infection clears quickly so that his chemo can resume as soon as possible, I'm sure you'll be aware that the chemo can lower resistance to infections. I've been on gemcitabine for 6 months without any side effects as it is generally one of the more easily tolerated gold standard treatments.

Love and Peace

Mike

[gbest1958]

Hi Didge

Just want to let you know that my younger sister had surgery and same chemo over 3 years ago. Her chemo was delayed several months because she had some complications after surgery. She's very well now and only needs Creon. She took an early retirement from work age 47 and has been all over the world in the last 2 years.

I wish you and your man a very happy new year filled with hope and health

Gillian x

[cestrian]

Hi Gillian

Wonderful to hear of your sister's successful treatment which will surely encourage Didge and her partner. Further evidence that diagnosis in time for surgical intervention is a real key to beating this disease. There is a huge need for GPS and the wider public to be better educated to raise awareness of how this disease manifests itself but of course in many cases there are no real symptoms until it is too late.

Love and Peace

Mike

[gbest1958]

Thanks Mike

Yes you are so right but like many, my sister had no real symptoms until she became jaundiced. She is a nurse and it was her manager who insisted she have a blood test. 2 weeks later she was in Southampton for a Whipples. I strongly believe that the skill of her surgeon, Mr xx, has been key to her recovery.

This forum is so helpful

Gillianx

[Didge]

Thanks everyone. We spent all night Monday in A and E due to a rash which looked like septicaemia but turned out to be caused by low blood platelets. I suppose we are still new to all this and it will be a steep learning curve in the months to come. He has no spleen since op so is more prone to infections. Glad to hear your sister's story, Gillian. It's always good to know there is hope and life out there!

Didge x

[nikkis]

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you had to go to A and E. Just wanted to check that your boyfriend is on antibiotics all the time, as he has no spleen, as this will give him some protection against infections? It should be something they do automatically but in my husbands case they didn't initially,

Best wishes,

Nikki

[Didge]

Thanks, Nikki. Yes he is. Hopefully he won't be getting infections every time or we'll never get through it!

Didge

[nikkis]

Hi Didge,

Paul had his surgery at the end of May and even with chemo has just had one infection, so hope that does mean they are doing the trick,

Nikki

[marie souter]

Hi NIkki and Didge,

Hope everything is going well after your recent panic with the low platelets .. hope we see improvements soon xxx

Nikki I saw one of your posts on Cathys thread I think it was, mentioning your hubbys distended tummy (on and off) my mom had this quite a lot ... they investigated but never found out the the cause until much later on, but they always suspected a partial obstuction ... (initially caused they thought by the stent mom had in place (excess sludge), which I rubbished as she had zero liver problems, no itch, no jaundice)... anyway turned out to be an intestinal (partial leading to full) obstruction caused by swelling...when the swelling reduced things would go back to normal.. I would find changing her diet when the distention was up helped...I would reduce any fatty/fibrous foods in that time as they would irritate and make things worse...I imagine there are a lot of other reasons why this would happen (not a doctor) but I just thought I would let you know my experience with the distention...I was her sole carer and moved in with her so I did the whole cancer road with her ... I hope they find out soon whats causing the problems xx

hugz

Marie

xx