How Long Now That It's Back?

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My Mom just found out that her pc is back- this time in the lungs. She was declared cancer free after a total pancreatetectimy (SP?)and 5FU, Gemzar, and radiation (diagnosis in 2-05, treatments ended around 9-05)- treatments were just supposed to be an insurance policy since the surgery took care of all visible cancer. She will begin chemo tomorrow- Gemzar along w/ Xeloda, possible Tarceva. Any idea what we're looking at? Anyone out there who has been able to keep their pc under control w/ chemo? That's the drs hope- to control her pc w/ chemo- they've told us they can't get rid of it completely. Looking for some hope- please let me know what you all have experienced (even if bad). Thanks so much

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Lynnmarie

Did you get any responses to your post? We are interested in the same info. My dad had a whipple 2 yrs. ago and up until this week all tests were good. Now it has reaccurered in the liver. They started Gemzar this week. Will it be able to be controlled? He has treatments `1 day a week for 3 weeks then a week off and another 3 week treatment. That doesn't seem like much. They will reevaluate after that.

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Concernedkid

Unfortunately, I never got any responses- however, my mom has so far tolerated her chemo well (w/ the exception of catching a cold that turned to pneumonia which then made her white blood count so low she nearly died). In fact, she just had a treatment today. I would ask the oncologist about adding either xeloda (the other chemo drug my mom takes besides Gemzar) and/or Tarceva (just FDA approved for mets pan. can.) to the regimin. If needs be bring internet printouts to the doc. Jump on it quick- you really don't have any time to waste at this point. I'm still struggling to get that point across to my Mom (who is supposed to be ?ing the doc as to when she will add Tarceva to her regimin). please feel free to email me whenever- it's nice to talk w/ someone experiencing the same thing. Take care- stay strong.

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Lynnmarie

Does you r mom tolerate the tretments pretty well? They told my dad that their arent' many side effects to Gemzar. I have to find out if they are giving him anything else. What is the outlook of this? I am afraid to ask the Dr. Can it be controlled and still have quality of life? Is your mom able to still function normally? My dad is VERY active. He has no symptoms of anything right now.

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Concernedkid

Lynnmarie, Sorry I haven;t written in a while- crazy days around here!! Anyway, wanted to share my mom's good news with you to offer hope: after 9 weeks (I believe) of Gemzar and Xeloda her tumor (in her lung, but met. pancreatic cancer) shrank from 2.9 cm to 1.5 and the other nodules in her lungs remained stable at under 1 cm- so FANTASTIC news! She tolerates these treatments very well, w/ the exception of low white counts- she gets Neupagin shots a couple times a week on and off and once in a while her red count drops tooo- another type of shot for that. How's your Dad? Take care Kelly

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Lynnmarie

Kelly, So glad you wrote! We have a second opinion appt. tomorrow after my dad goes in for his blood tests and chemo. (Gemzar) I am arming my self with questions for the Dr. My dad had to quit the chemo. for 2 weeks because of the while blood cell counts and platelets being too low so we haven't done a thing in 2 weeks. He is still feeling fine. I plan to ask about adding another drug to the gemzar. He has only had 1 1/2 treatments thus far. Glad to hear your mom is doing well. This is a nightmare for us. My dad is 62 and active so it's been so hard. I am praying for a miracle at this appt. tomorrow. Thanks for replying!!! Lynn

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Concernedkid

Lynnmarie, When my Mom was first on this new regimin, she also had low counts and had to forgo a treatment- but then she ended up w/ double pneumonia and white counts so low she nearly died. Neupagen saved her life! After that I asked my Mom and dad to prod the oncologist to use neupagen on a proactive basis- rather that wait until her count was so low she couldn't ge the treatments- do an internet search of the drug (I may have spelled it wrong)- I found a site written by a chemo nurse that showed how to properly use the drug- turns out some drs (or at least their nurses) will skip the weekends out of convenience (that's how my Mom wound up hosptialzed for 2 weeks- they told her she'd be fine until Monday)- if you use the drug after the chemo (before the counts begin to drop) it will stop the counts form getting too low for no chemo. Hope this makes sense!! Now, my Mom gets chemo Wed, shot Thursady and friday- usually Sun, check on Monday (usually no need for shot then) and chemo again on the Wed. w/ the same schedule of shots. It's worth a shot asking- no pun intended!- you need your Dad to have the chemo- trust me- the more that better- and the sooner the better!! But don't panic about missing some time- my Mom missed those 2 weeks in the hostial and that was during the 9 weeks that made her tumor shrink! I'll be praying for you and your Dad- my faith keeps me strong. Hang in there kelly

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Lynnmarie

Kelly, Trust me, I have a ton of Faith :) Miracles really do happen and I expect to get one for my dad. Thanks for the drug info. I wrote it all down. If the news is not too devastating I will let you know how it goes. I expect to hear something optomistic tomorrow. Thanks so much for your help. Is your mom feeling ok on all this stuff? Lynn

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