Heidelberg University Hospital

[cestrian]

Great news Steve and everyone on here obviously rooting for you. Very best of luck with the operation and during the recovery period thereafter.

Love and Peace

Mike

[nikkis]

That all sounds so wonderful Steve. My husband, Paul, had a Whipples without an epidural (nightmare pain wise), and then a pancreatectomy with, and when you consider it was his second big op in 2 weeks, he had no pain post op, so sure it will be the same for you. Out of interest did you get anywhere with your company medical insurance covering it? Paul still has a bit of tumour left, so wondering if going there could be an option in the future, post chemo.

Hope it all goes well, but it sounds like you are in really good hands,

Nikki

[InfoForMum]

So pleased Steve,

Suspecting, when they wheel you down to theatre, you are going to be the most relaxed you've been for a while. No more fighting to get what you want and need for a short while and time to be cared for by the experts you've searched for, found and won over.

Wishing you the very, very best result and mega quick recovery.

Sarah

XX

[Slewis7313]

Thanks again all. As far as insurance goes, my Company's suppliers are saying they don't normally fund anything outside the UK but are really uncomfortable with their own statement if the treatment is not available in the UK! They have asked for a breakdown of the bill, which they intend to present to the Trustees for consideration.

I will update on the insurance issue as information comes in.

Take care

Steve

[Sones]

Fantastic news Steve. I had epidural when I had my whipples two years ago and I can honestly say I didn't experience any pain in the initial days following surgery. Thankfully I recovered well and was discharged after only six days. I wish you all the very best, keep posting.

Sue.x

[Jwilson]

Really good luck with your op Steve. We tend to not look past our own professionals who are sitting in front of us. We were told in May when the Whipple was not able to be done for Bill and a bypass had been done instead that' no surgeon in the world could have removed that tumour' . So until right now I never thought of looking elsewhere for help. Food for thought Steve. Thanks for posting and everything crossed for a successful outcome for you.

June

[Sueba]

Steve

Fantastic news!we both wish you the best of luck for a quick recovery

Sue and Mick

Xx

[karen17]

So so very pleased for you Steve and wishing you all the best and a speedy recovery. You go kick this evil disease up the backside for all of us!

Karen xx

[Cathy]

Hi Steve

I've just caught up with your updates and wish you all the very best of luck with the op. How fantastic that they feel confident they can remove the bugger. You and your family must feel absolutely delighted.

Cathy xxx

[AnneK]

Hi Steve

So, so pleased for you and wish you all the very best with the op. It is such fantastic news and gives hope to others of us in a similar situation. Lots of love to you and your family.

Anne

[Slewis7313]

This will be a struggle as my iPad won't work and i am on my smartphone. I am now an in-patient and ready for tomorrow's operation at 07:00. We have met with the surgeon and radiotherapy specialist and all are very positive. They expect the operation to last only 3-4 hours as long as there are no complications. They pointed out that they do between. 5 and 7 every day and mine seems to be a pretty straightforward operation with no indication that they will need to remove the tail of the pancreas. The radiotherapist is on standby and may not be needed. She did point out that i had one of the smallest she had ever seen, but did afterwards point out that she was referring to the tumour!

Be in touch soon!

Take care

Steve

X

[karen17]

We're all rooting for you Steve. Wishing you all the very best

Karen xx

[InfoForMum]

lmao at your radiotherapist. What's a man's ego compared to his good health, but like you I think she was probably talking about your tumour

Will be thinking of you as my 4 year old alarm clock jumps on my chest to wake me up (7am come rain, shine or clock changes - god knows how she knows, cos the hour change always confuses the heck out of me!)

How marvellous to be talked about as a routine and average patient. Not often you can say that, but guessing it was music to your ears. Very very very best wishes for it all - op, immediate recovery and convalesence.

Hugs

Sarah

XXX

Edited October 30, 2013 by InfoForMum

[Hope56]

I am amazed that they do so many a day and view them as routine. Wake up UK surgeons. To be able to offer hope to those suffering from PC will sit much easier at the end of your working day.

Steve...you have offered nothing but support, comfort and positivity to others on this forum despite dealing with the disease yourself. So I wish you good luck for tomorrow and the coming days, weeks, months and years.....Positive thoughts are flying your way . Best wishes - Hope

[Cathy]

Steve!...

LOL! Honestly . You men......

We will be looking out for your first post op post eagerly.

All the very best.

Cathy xxxxx

[Holly13]

Hi all, I'm posting on behalf of my dad, Steve. He asked me to keep the forum family updated re his op today until he is able to return on here himself, which I'm sure won't be too long!

My dad went into theatre at 7.15 this morning (6.15 UK time), a little nervous understandably but also keen to get on with it. He even managed to pose for a pic in his very fetching hospital gown, white stockings and green mop cap... which of course went straight on Facebook! We're now just playing the waiting game, my mum, sister and I are expecting a phone call hopefully sometime early afternoon (we've been told if the op goes well he could be done as quick as 3 to 4 hours!). As soon as I know how it went I will let everyone know on here. Fingers crossed it'll all be fine.

Although I haven't posted on here much myself, I have been following a lot of the posts and I just want to say thank you so much for all the support and kindness you have shown my dad. I know that the people on this forum have helped greatly to give him the strength to fight this horrible disease and get him here today.

Take care,

Holly xx

[cestrian]

Hi Holly

Heathens on here with everything crossed for your Dad and those with a deity praying with all their might for a successful outcome.

Waiting with bated breath for news later today

Love and Peace

Mike

[InfoForMum]

Hi Holly,

Thank you for doing this for us. You've probably grasped we all feel very invested in your Dad's story and well being. He's helped so many other's keep their chin up and find the right info, so glad he's found it a support too.

Just like Mike I'll be keeping an eye out for updates, but please don't worry about keeping us waiting, your Dad is obviously the priority.

Hugs for you as I know waiting can be brutally hard when something like this is happening.

Sarah

XXX

[PCUK Nurse Jeni]

Hi Holly,

Thanks for posting. Please send Steve our best wishes.

We hope that everything went smoothly, and that he is his usual cheerful self very soon again.

Love from Jeni, Dianne and the Support Team.

[Holly13]

Thank you for all your kind wishes. We've just gotten back from seeing my Dad at the hospital where he is doing well and reports that he feels absolutely no pain! Unfortunately, I'm really sad to have to say that the operation was unsuccessful. Once they got to the tumour they found that it had infiltrated the artery instead of just contacting it as originally thought from the scans. This meant that they were unable to remove the tumour and so had no choice but to close my Dad back up. He was in the operating theatre about 3 hours in total. To say it was a shock is an understatement and we are all so disappointed especially as all the staff had seemed so positive and confident about the operation. We got the impression that they are not often wrong about these things.

My Dad is however doing well and although is understandably disappointed he is glad they at least tried and is keen to look at the next option. The doctors at Heidelberg have said they are looking at other options possibly involving starting him on aggressive chemo in the next few weeks. Also on the plus side my Dad will hopefully be out of hospital in less than a week as he should recover fairly quickly.

I'm sorry if this has been hard to read as I know we all hoped for a much more positive outcome. But as my Dad's doctor told us today "We may have lost this battle, but the war is not over" , and I can assure you that my Dad is as keen as ever to give this horrid disease his best fight.

Take care,

Holly xx

[Cathy]

Hi Holly

Thank you so much for letting us know.

It goes without saying that we are all so very disappointed to hear that the operation wasn't the success you and we all hoped for for your Dad and the rest of your family.

It is great that he sounds so chipper so soon after though (what a man!) and that neither he, nor his medical team and doctor are about to give up fighting the war.

Please pass on our best wishes to your Dad and hope he is back on his feet and fighting the good fight very very soon.

Cathy xxx

[InfoForMum]

Holly,

I am so sorry my love. You must be in pieces. Please pass on my best wishes to your Dad and I know he has already looked into Nanoknife as an excellent option to partner chemotherapy to continue to fight this bloody thing. Not something to think about today, but I get the impression no-one and nothing is going to keep him down for long.

I wish him a speedy recovery and my thoughts are with you all.

Sarah

XXX

[Winkle]

Dear Holly and Family,

What a terrible time for you all, I can only repeat what everyone here seems to feel, that your dad's attitude will help him beat this horror.

He is giving us all hope, what an amazing man, sending all my love.

Kathy xxxx

[EmmaR]

Just sending you all loads of postive thoughts and Best Wishes your Dad will fight on !!

Take Care

EmmaR xxxx

[Tolliedee]

I am really sorry to hear this news...

Warm gentle hugs to you all xx