Anyone With Words Of Encouragement?

Hi, I'm a 34 year old Asian female in Canada.  I had symptoms of pain and cramping on my lower left side and was admitted to hospital in Nov.24/07.  Doctors said it was pancreatitis, did a ct scan and an MRI and found a mass in my pancreas.  I was referred to a GI specialist who performed an endoscopic ultrasound on Jan. 3/08, 2 weeks later test results showed it was in fact a tumor, located in the neck of pancreas.  The only option they gave me was surgery.  I'm a non-smoker, non-drinker, healthy and active individual who has no family history of cancer.  Doctors were puzzled.  It is a neuroendocrine tumor.  Before my surgery I had met an Aboriginal medicine man and I participated in healing sweat ceremonies, where natural heat/radiation was used to shrink or stop the growth of my tumor.  Then I had my surgery Feb. 29/08.  I was in hospital for 11 days.  I am recovering slowly, am able to eat a little more, but get some cramping on my left side. I received 24 staples and the incision hasn't closed properly at the bottom, so a home care nurse comes to my home daily to change the dressing.  I have been blessed to have support from family and friends.  I am able to walk more and eat more.  I have been told to eat a normal diet and to refrain from doing laundry and cleaning for 6-8 weeks.  I have a follow up appointment with my surgeon in 2 months.  I am also waiting for the pathology report, because they will be studying the tumor.  I am not on any pain meds but I do take Ranitidine for indigestion and to neutralize stomach acid.   

Hello - The most encouraging word is that you were lucky to have caught the PC early enough to have the surgery.  I assume that you have had the whipple.   There is no luck in getting PC -- but there is luck involved with catching it early. Good luck in your recovery.

You are also "lucky" to have a neuroendocrine tumor rather than adenocarcinoma. Adeno is usually much more aggressive. Good luck to you and be patient. A Whipple is a tough operation and recovery can be longer than with other surgeries. Bless you.

I wish you the best of luck in your recovery, and am so glad that you were able to be diagnosed early where they could help you. My dad was diagnosed in February, and this cancer just doesn't make any sense. His doctors said it was kind of like the roll of a dice. Take care and best wishes on your recovery.

As others have said here, you are lucky to be able to have the Whipple, so many aren't candidates, and double lucky that it is neuroendicrine...amazing to think of any luck associated with this disease, but it's true. 

My boyfriend had the Whipple Sept 7, 2007 for adenocarcinoma, and it is a very hard surgery.  He was in the hospital for 19 days.  His incision wouldn't stop draining and had to be reopened on day 13 and the fascia re-stitched and then they put retention sutures in which left a wide incision that I had to pack twice a day for almost 2 months. I'm not a nurse and almost fainted the first time I had to do that, but as we've all found out, we do what we have to do...and he says I'm a master wound packer now.  It is a hard recovery, and then all of a sudden he realized that he was starting to feel almost "normal" again.  He has to watch what he eats and make sure he has his enzymes with him all the time, but is doing really well.  He will be 1 year post-DX in April, and we'll be going back for his 3rd post-surgery follow up testing in May.  He's gained back 30 of the 50 lbs he lost and looks much better now.

Like you, he never smoked, only drank an occasional beer, ran 5 miles a day, worked out with weights, ate really healthy with lots of salads and fresh vegetables...in spite of that he got this awful disease. 

Hang in there and hopefully you will wake up one day and realize that you have your life back, maybe not exactly the way it was, but still able to be enjoyed.    Best wishes to you....  Donna C in FL

Hi,

Please look at the LEF website - they have well researched information on pancreatic cancer including recommendations for diet and supplements - 

http://www.lef.org/protocols/cancer/pancreatic_01.htm

Best of luck. 

 

 By the grace of God, you were diagnosed before any major progression of the tumor. I can say that from the experience of having terminal brain cancer, that it has been my faith that has pulled me through all heartache and trials. To acheive sucess in anything we do, we must overcome advercity, accept the hand we are delt, and always stay focused on the outcome. My familiy and I will pray for you, and may god speed be with you.

 

Chad

Years ago, anyone diagnosed with Cancer thought they had to get all their affairs in order as they are going to die in weeks or months. Well, things have changed quite a bit.

 I had renal cell carcinoma, left kidney in full rupture, type T-1b, and they thought they got it all. Not quite, I am a three time cancer survivor, so there is a full and active life after being diagnosed with the C word.

During the surgery for the kidney removal, was given a 20% chance of survival, so told the wife, sons and 7 grandkids, that after I survived the surgery was going to buy a Corvette. Everyone including my surgeon tried to humor me and said yea yea sure.

Point being, is find something to live for and forget the fact you have been diagnosed with Cancer, it is not the end of the world, and based upon my current CT and MRI scans, (4) times a year, I remain cancer free for the past 4 years. Yes, I also bought the Corvette, ordered it just after I was permitted a telephone.

Set your mind to what you want to do, I chose to live, so will you.

 Jack

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Related to the open wound, my son-in-law had that problem as well.  His wound care nurse suggested and we followed through with a device called the Wound Vac.  The healing has been excellent - much faster than just the normal packing and coverage.  It's covered my insurance and the time to heal has been dramatically reduced.

You can look through the following website .

http://www.kci1.com/35.asp