I was just diagnosed with periampullary cancer Nov 15. I had Whipple surgery Nov 20. Pathology showed that the origin of my cancer was in the ampulla itself. Of 21 lymph nodes removed, I had cancerous cells in three. Other than that I showed a wide margin of no cancer. I just saw the oncologist Dec 17 and am scheduled to start chemo with Gemcitabine on Jan 10. for a period of 4-6 months, three weeks on w/one week off. Oncologist wants to do chemo alone with no radiation. Feels that there's a chance of lymphovascular invasion which the chemo would take care of. Says radiation is for localized treatment and since I have very wide clear margins, it's not called for. Radiation treatments may also interfere with chemo treatments which I really need because of the lymph involvement. Does this make sense to anyone? My journey with all of this just started Oct 31 with a belly ache, so I feel like I've been in a whirlwind! I have had a great recovery from my surgery and am actually feeling fairly good. I would appreciate talking to anyone with knowledge or first hand experience with ampullary cancer. Since this is such a rare cancer, it's tough to find good information on it. Thanks in advance for any responses! I am being treated at the James Cancer Clinic at OSU Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.