Confused

[Aceshigh]

Hi. My husband is 71yrs old. He has not been well for sometime. Frequent visits to our gp have resulted in our being no further forward in finding out what was causing symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, fatigue, balance and coordination issues, vomiting and diarrhoea, pain in chest/abdomen. On 25 February I had to call an emergency ambulance when I thought he had had a stroke as his eyes were rolling and his speech was slurred. It turned out that his blood sugars had dropped and he was having a hypo. He was admitted to hospital and it was there that they discovered that his liver function was abnormal and a US located a mass near his liver. A subsequent CT scan revealed pancreatic cancer in the head of the pancreas. He has since developed jaundice and the pain in his abdomen has worsened. Following the MDT last Thursday he has been listed for an ERCP in the morning. I know that it is the intention to insert a stent in the bile duct and that this procedure should help with the jaundice and abdominal pain. A biopsy is also to be taken. I am finding the speed of this to be quite frightening especially as no one has yet sat down and explained to us precisely what is happening, why it is happening or what we should expect in the future. For example, is it treatable? We do not appear to have a point of contact for dealing with queries so I am resorting to the internet as the only place where I can get any sort of explanation. We all know that the internet can be very misleading and I am trying desperately not to frighten myself stupid. Our family all live hundreds of miles away from us so we are dealing with this entirely on our own at the moment. The current COVID situation doesn’t help either. I don’t know whether to get the family up here. Am I just being silly and overdramatic? I feel I should be able to sort this out but then I get quite frightened and find myself panicking on the what if scenario. Have other folk felt like this? Is there support out there? I just feel as if I am drowning at the moment and don’t know how to swim.

[Skippy]

Yr not being silly or over dramatic its so natural at this stage of your husbands admission to hospital your very worried. The findings too are just passed to you. Id suggest inform the children then they can comfort you on Skype or telephone. Its time you need support too. Your husband in the best professional hands.

Do they allow visitors into the ward.

My thoughts with you.

[Aceshigh]

Thank you Skippy. Your comments are very reassuring. I have just taken hubby into hospital this morning. They put the fear of God in me yesterday when they rang to give me the list of possible complications from the procedure. Sometimes I do feel they give you too much information and then I feel there’s not enough as we still do not know the direction this is actually going in. The children are aware of what is happening and they have been very good. I just wish they lived around the corner. Zoom calls are so remote!

[PCUK Nurse Nicola]

Hello Aceshigh,

My name is Nicci and I am one of the nurses that works on the support line here at Pancreatic Cancer UK. Welcome to the forum, I do hope that you find it a supportive and helpful place to be Aceshigh. Im so sorry to hear that your Husband has been unwell recently.

I know you have asked about support available, and so I wondered whether you might like to have a chat with one of us on our nurse support line. We are here to support you and answer any questions that you may have. You can call us on 0808 801 0707 or email us via nurse@pacreaticcancer.org.uk. Our support line is open Monday-Friday 9am-4pm except for Wednesday’s when we are open 10am-6pm. I hope this helps?

Take care,

Nicci

Nicci Murphy

Pancreatic cancer specialist nurse

0808 801 0707

nurse@pacreaticcancer.org.uk.

[Aceshigh]

I spoke to Lisa this afternoon. She is also one of the nurses. I can’t begin to say thanks to her for all the information she was able to impart in one telephone call. It has made such a difference to my outlook on this whole nightmare. I feel so much better this evening. Hubby had his ERCP today. He is a bit sore this evening but he is happier now that something is being done to alleviate the symptoms. He is also happier with the information I have been able to give him from Lisa. We still have the cancer type and staging to deal with but we both feel so much happier now that we have an understanding as to what is happening and why.