Dear Amy: It breaks my heart to read this message board and discover that someone new each day has to deal with this horrible disease. I feel for you, I really do. It sickens me to have to tell you that my mother passed away on 02/23/07, less than 5 months from her dx. My mother had perfect blood, her only symptom being a nagging pain on her right side radiating toward her back. That, and dark urine (the color of tea). She had the dark urine for several months and actually reported this to her primary physician. She (the dr) ran basic urinary tract tests and when they came back negative just chose to look no further. I am absolutely furious with her and wrote her a letter telling her so. For all the good it did me...
My mother was on Gemzar, three weeks on, one week off. She initially tolerated the treatments very well. No naseau, mouth sores, etc. She did become very, very constipated and was depressed, very depressed. She was dx on 09/29/06 (just 28 days after retiring) and another CT scan was done just after New Year's. The second CT scan showed no visible mass in the pancreas but increased liver activity. She went down hill rapidly from this point on. Did the chemo help? Not really. It did manage to disolve the tumor in the pancreas but the liver mets was the real problem. There is a part of me that thinks maybe the chemo became toxic to her liver and accelerated the cancer growth there. We will never know.
I hope and pray that your story will be a happier one. Initially, my mother mentioned not taking treatment at all. I wonder if possibly she could have had more time and more quality if that had been her ultimate choice. It's all a crap shoot. I wish I could be more encouraging. God Bless you and your loved one.
Karla (in Maine)