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My mother had been complaining of unusual and intense pains skirting around her abdomen, wrapping to her backside...she isn't the type to mention discomfort, so we knew this was an issue she needed to follow up on.
She went in to see her Primary either at the end of last month or beginning of August...they started with bloodwork and an upper GI because she also had trouble with feeling bloated, lack of appetite, nausea (and numbness in one leg)...the testing actually revealed what was diagnosed as a hernia, previously unknown.
She was prescribed two medications - unfortunately I am unaware of what since I am no longer living in the same state...
but the symptoms continued and worsened. Her General Practitioner and the Specialist whom she went to see (Gastroenterologist) were unable to give her an answer concerning the pain.
She waited a week or two, having good days and bad...but showed no improvement.
My father is associated with another MD (different field) who hastily called upon his network to get immediate testing for her and she underwent a bone scan and CT on Friday. Later that day she received a phone call with the news that they had finally found something described as a mass near the spine, a tumor on the pancreas...
Dad called it cancer, but I'm not sure what the exact wording was.
The next step, I am assuming, is to have a biopsy completed to verify the growth and stage the progress.
I've been searching the Internet over the past two days to pull up anything...to help me process accurate information, understand the statistics...and get ready for what is coming. I need to be prepared so that I can support my folks as best I can, given the circumstances. Much will have to be long-distance...but I know I'll be making a trip back home soon if the results this coming week are dire.
I have bookmarked several sites...the Pancreatic Cancer Research page (.org) seems to be a good, basic site and I forwarded that on to my father, who is having more trouble right now with this than my mother. She might not yet understand the severity of her condition, but she is the strong-willed scrapper...and she will not give up, no matter.
I am floating, for lack of a better word, between mentally functional and disbelief...crying, then getting my head together again, has not really sunk in yet.
Not that I haven't anticipated the loss of my parents, since none of us are young anymore, but that this is just...well, if you've been there, you know what I mean.
So sorry about your mom. If it is pancreatic cancer, the news is dire indeed. It's so hard to diagnose that usually it isn't found until it is very far along. My prayers ofr all of you...........
Lost two of my best friends to Pancreatic Cancer, so hoping this is not your Mothers disease. The best website for information is the John Hopkins discussion board. Just google that phrase exactly and it will take you directly to the board. These people are wonderful, they will explain any of your questions and will offer their support day and night. Also, they are in the know of any of the latest treatments.......If you would like to email personally, please contact me at: ..lostintwinfalls@gmail.com
My mother had been complaining of unusual and intense pains skirting around her abdomen, wrapping to her backside...
I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. These are the same symptoms my mother had prior to being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 19 years ago.
My mother did not have a biopsy performed to arrive at her diagnosis. And surgery was not an option as the cancer was up next to her aorta. Chemo was the only available treatment at the time, which she refused. The doctors gave her 3 months, but she stayed with us for 9 months.
Doctors recently found tumors on the pancreas of my mother's uncle. He went in for surgery to remove them, prepared for the worst. The tumors and half his pancreas were removed but the tumors turned out to be benign. Hope your mother has a similarly happy outcome.
Thank you for the kind responses. It is very helpful to me even if the prognosis is grim.
She had one CT done and then was referred to the same Oncologist that handled my SIL's breast cancer, which during her battle encompassed both her breast and lymph node. Her recovery was difficult but fully successful and this Specialist has both experience and several locations...
He has requested another scan, this time a tomography involving the radioactive fluids, wants a better look. Would not define the discovery as anything other than a mass when my parents went in to speak with him at length. I think this is to keep my mother upbeat - she is still of the mind that she will fight this...depending on what they read from the results, a biopsy may be ordered for early next week.
I was hoping they'd go right to that, hate that time is being lost to lab work, but I'm not the one calling the shots. Bro and I were surprised because when his wife went in for her work-up, she was scanned, biopsied and staged all in the same, very long day. Understanding that this is a different process...but wary of false assurances that a lull between exams affords me.
Depending on the news, I will most likely be heading down there at the end of next week with my daughter...Nana misses her grandbaby as they've always had a very special bond. The time to see her would be now...a.s.a.p., not later.
I am worried about my father and his ability to deal with the possibility of losing his wife. Smart man, but so close to it...he does not normally reach out, is the 'BURY IT' type (I am also) and so I have to 'read' him without being obnoxious.
The biopsy was finally completed and she has been diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas. The mass is in a spot behind the Pancreas, I am unclear as to whether or not the organ itself also has a tumor or if this is Pancreatic cancer that traveled. There is only this one location that shows activity. The Oncologist began her on Chemo immediately and might later operate to remove, but the wording is speculative.
He did not stage the cancer by any scale I've found online, or give a prognosis, instead offering to my parents that he was very hopeful she could beat this. Called the tumor "small". The earlier determination was that this mass measured 3.6x2 CM and was slow-growing. SUV was gauged at 6.1, though that means nothing to me, not finding any way to relate that in layman terms.
He is an experienced Oncologist with much lauding, so he might be wording the information to keep my mother positive...I don't know.
Folks are going in again on Monday for another consultation, hoping they get a bit more information then. Hard to be long-distance and even harder not too ask many meddling questions...but my mind is unanswered.
I don't know how relative that size is in terms of tumors, but 2.5 cm more or less is an inch. So it's less than 1 inch in one direction and less than 1.5 inches in the other direction. Considering the size of the abdomen, that does sound small. But as I said, I don't know anything about tumor sizes.
It is not great news. With pancreatic cancer and that size you can pretty much gauge life expectancy. If you can find out the TNM and stage you will know more. Miracles can and do happen. Never give up hope!
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Sorry to hear this
