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Don has been diagnosed with borderline inoperable pancreatic cancer. I first heard the cancer described that way on thursday. I heard a radiologist in Tampa's Moffitt Cancer Hospital say it to a radiologist in Melbourne while she was making arrangements for Don to receive his radiation there after his chemo treatments are concluded in Tampa.
Although I haven't mentioned it until now, his surgeon tried to do the Whipple Procedure last month. She was unable to complete all of the procedure due to the size of the tumor on one end of the pancreas. (I believe that end is called the "head". She did remove some of the pancreas on the other end, part of his small intestine and create a "new" bile duct (at least I believe that's what I heard). The tumor on the other end of the pancreas was too close or had "involved" a blood vessel and the surgeon didn't dare try to cut it out for fear of damaging the blood vessel. I presume it is the aorta although I have not heard anyone actually say that.
He has been home for almost 2 weeks now with a feeding tube in his stomach through which he receives a high protein formula at night. They want him to eat a lot of high calorie foods during the day but he says food tastes awful and he feels full all the time so he is'nt doing so well with that. He starts his first chemo treatment next Tuesday. That will go on for about 8 or 9 weeks. Besides oral meds he will get 1 injection a week for 2 weeks, then a week off, then repeat twice. Sometime after that the radiation will begin and that's 5 or 6 weeks of going 5 days a week.
If all that shrinks the tumor enough, the surgeon will complete the operation.
He's lost about 40 lbs since the beginning of having symptoms - just about 3 months ago.
Pancreatic cancer has about the lowest survival rate of any kind. Symptoms don't show up until the cancer is fairly advanced. I had serious doubts about his survival before I overheard the radiologist use the words borderline inoperable and now I'm even more convinced that he probably won't make it through this. I feel so bad for him, Nancy and their kids (all grown, of course).
Sorry I went into so much detail. Guess I just needed to "talk" about it.
Love, Shirley
