....just a pulled muscle....

craig · New User Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 2

Thank you all so very much for sharing your ever-so-personal feelings of pain, fear, and helplessness. Reading your entries, as well as writing my own, has been quite therapeutic. I only hope I can have the same affect on others as you all have had on me. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you.

One night in mid-November my dad, who is 67 years old, awoke from a nap with a sharp pain in the right side of his abdomen. Doctor said that it was just a pulled muscle and that it should go away in a few days. The pain subsided and he only felt a dull ache occasionally until it happened again on January 9th. Only this time he said that it felt like being stabbed every time he took a deep breath. Another trip to the doctor's office lead to an ultrasound which resulted in a CT Scan. At this point I think we all began preparing ourselves for the worst.

On January 16th we received the news: a 6 cm tumor on the tail of the pancreas and a couple small lesions on the liver. On the 27th they did a biopsy to remove some of the cells from the lesions on the liver. I'm not quite sure why they did the biopsy on the liver and not on the pancreas and, as of now, I don't know what type of treatment is being planned. All I know is that the pain is worsening and his spirits are really low. His life, as well as ours, has changed so dramatically in such a short period of time. I never realized how quickly pancreatic cancer progresses and attacks the other organs. Does anyone know what the differences are, if any, between having a tumor on the head as opposed to the tail of the pancreas?

I have so many questions and uncertainties at this point.

craig

missumom · Experienced user Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 65

Hi Craig,

I am so sorry that your dad is going through this illness. When my mom was diagnosed, I researched Pancreatic Cancer in the internet. By the time I was done reading all the information on the sites, I felt like a med student, but it helped me understand what the doctors were saying.

Your dad has a tough fight on his hand and he'll need his family with him now, more than ever. My one advice to you is to spend as much time with him as you possibly can. If you can take some time off work to take care of your dad while he's in the hospital, take advantage of it.

This can be a very frustrating and challenging time for your dad and your family. I have taken a bit of information from the internet and pasted it below. I hope that it'll help clarify some questions you may have about this type of cancer.

"The pancreas is about 6 inches long and is shaped something like a thin pear, wider at one end and narrowing at the other. It produces juices that help you break down (digest) your food, and hormones (such as insulin) that regulate how your body stores and uses food. Cancer of the pancreas is hard to find (diagnose) because the organ is hidden behind other organs. The signs of pancreatic cancer are like many other illnesses, and there may be no signs in the first stages.

Pancreatic Cancer can be treated by: surgery (taking out the cancer or relieving symptoms caused by the cancer); radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells) and/or chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells).

A Whipple procedure removes the head of the pancreas, part of the small intestine, and some of the tissues around it. Enough of the pancreas is left to continue making digestive juices and insulin.

Total pancreatectomy takes out the whole pancreas, part of the small intestine, part of the stomach, the bile duct, the gallbladder, spleen, and most of the lymph nodes in the area.

Distal pancreatectomy takes out only the tail of the pancreas.

If your cancer has spread and it cannot be removed, your doctor may do surgery to relieve symptoms.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat in that it is undetectable by a physical exam, asymptomatic, and progresses quickly - most patients die within 6 months of diagnosis. These factors also limit the amount of data available for research, hindering significant advances in the understanding of the disease.

"Pancreatic cancer is a very aggressive cancer with extremely low survival rates," said Ronald B. Herberman, M.D., associate vice chancellor for research, health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

While pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, it is one of the least well-funded areas of cancer research."

craig · New User Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 2

Thanks for the reply, missumom. I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. We lost our mom in '98 after she battled cancer for 15 years. She finally gave in when it reappeared in her lung.

It boggles my mind how quickly this disease is taking my dad. In two short weeks after being diagnosed, he is already fatigued and constantly out of breath. He sleeps for about 4 hours during the day and he makes numerous trips to the bathroom at night. And now he is beginning to present jaundice. Not all the time but it is noticeable.

I only wish that the doctors were working on a treatment plan as aggressively as the disease is attacking my dad's body.

missumom · Experienced user Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 65

My mom was diagnosed on September 21, 2005 and she passed away on October 17, 2005. She was 65. This type of cancer is very cruel in that it progresses so fast, that the people left behind are so much in pain. The only comfort I have is that she didn't suffer for a long time, but some days, it isn't enough for me. I miss her... Crying or Very sad

My sincere sympathies on the loss of your mom. May God rest her soul in eternal peace and happiness. I'm sure she's around your dad helping him cope through this difficult time.

My dad took my mom to emergency after she had been complaining of indigestion/heartburn with back pain for a couple of days. The pain wouldn't go away and it progressively got worse. She became jaundice the day after she was admitted. The doctor said she wasn't a good candidate for any of the surgeries because she probably wouldn't make it through. The cancer was tightening up her bile ducts and placing a stent would have disturbed the cancer more. Her only hope was chemo which took away so much of her strength and increased her pain. Her first dose of chemo, she was vomitting for 48 hours straight. She barely slept and didnt eat, nor drink. My dad and I stayed at the hospital with her because I don't think the nurse would've attended to her as much as we did.

I remember arguing with my mom's doctor about treating her more aggressively and how he got annoyed with me because I wouldn't give up (I just kept persisting). He kept telling me my mom's condition was an 'urgen', but not an 'emergen'. I remember telling the doctor that if it were his mom suffering, I'm sure he would treat her differently and he answered, 'I would treat my mom the same way", to which I replied back, "You don't love your mom!!! I love my mom and I don't want to see her suffering!" Several weeks after, I did apologize to the doctor. I was just really desperate for the doctor to treat my mom and get her well again.

I'm sorry for rambling on and on...Let me know how your dad's doing. I'll be checking on the forum for you. Be strong!

God bless,

Twinkles · New User Joined: 01 Feb 2006 Posts: 1

My grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 4 days ago. She insisted she had a pulled muscle in her stomach, but it wasn't. She has a mass on the tail of the pancreas and it's spread to her liver. Sounds a lot like your dad's case Craig. She has an appointment to see an oncologist this week to discuss treatment options, but it doesn't look good. She wants to fight it, but she's 82, weighs 92 pounds and is very weak and frail. The doctor gave her 2 to 6 months to live. Good luck to you and God Bless you and your family.

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