Category Archives: pancreatic cancer

Preparing for Chemo

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Hello everyone,

Thank you for all the well wishes. It really does help.

Early in the week I talked to Michael Dupre. He is in charge of my palliative care. We talked about how I’m doing emotionally. I was surprised by this. I didn’t expect this level of holistic care. I’m thrilled about it.

He talked to me about the pain meds I’m on. I’ve been strict with myself and only take them to sleep. It usually takes a couple to get me relaxed enough to do so. He told me that it’s OK to take the pain meds during the day, in fact, it’s preferred. He asked me what I would do if I walked into the kitchen and there was a grease fire on the stove. Would I decide that it wasn’t that bad? That I could ignore it until it got worse? Until firemen were trampling through my house? No. It needs to be taken care of. He has a point. So, I’ve been taking pain meds during the day. I am feeling better.

On Thursday, my friend Maddy came over and got the lawns edged and mowed. Then she cleaned my kitchen. We had pizza for lunch and just talked. It’s good to have friends.

On Friday, I had the port put into my chest. It’s a small device that’s inserted under the skin, with tubing that goes into a blood vessel and ends near my heart. Blood can be drawn from this, instead of poking me in the arm all the time. It is also where the chemotherapy drugs are delivered. This was very stressful for me. And that was before I found out that I’d be awake for the procedure.

The team that installed the port was awesome. They were very kind and made sure I was comfortable and answered all my questions. They played rock and roll during the procedure. Not loudly. That was just too cool. It didn’t take long, and I was so relieved when it finished.

Now, I’m definitely taking the pain meds during the day.

Next week is very busy. Chemo starts. I’m nervous. I’ll let you know next Sunday how it all goes.

Finding Out About My Cancer Treatment

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I really debated announcing my cancer. I felt like that might come across as an attention grab. I’m introverted, so it was hard to post, but I did it anyway.

I honestly expected crickets.

People who think follower count is important might feel that I didn’t get much of a response, but I was overwhelmed by the support I got. I can’t even tell you how much all the well wishes, advice, links, and stories of others who have gone through this have meant to me. I have to say, you all are the best. Thank you so very much.

I’ve decided to do a weekly post, on Sundays, just to update everyone about what’s going on with my treatment. I find it all very interesting, and I think others might find it interesting, too.

I had three medical appointments this week. I think that’s a first for me.

Tuesday, I met with my oncologist, Dr Von Wu, at Compass Oncology. He explained exactly where my cancer is located and what stage I’m in. There’s a 4.4cm tumor in my pancreas. Two glands have tumors, one is 1.2cm, and the other is 1.5cm. They told me about the tumors in the glands while I was in the hospital, but somehow I forgot about them. They checked all over, and there are no other signs of cancer. All of this equates to stage II cancer.

Next, Dr Von Wu showed me the scans that were taken while I was in the hospital. I got to see the locations of the tumors and where they are in relation to my organs.

Then, he gave me a quick explanation about my chemo treatments. I got a more thorough explanation later in the week, so I’ll skip that.

I felt Dr Von Wu was very well spoken and really knew his subject matter.

On Wednesday, I saw my primary care physician, Dr Roberts, with the Rose Clinic. No one suggested this; I just wanted to see her and talk about my diagnosis and make sure she was being kept in the loop.

On Thursday, I had what they call a “Chemo Class”. I went to Compass Oncology and they had a class that lasted about one and a half hours that explained how the chemo would happen, what the expected side effects were, what the unexpected side effects could be, and what to do about them. I took about five pages of notes. They did give me a lot to read, but I like to take notes. There was another new patient in the class. A lot of what was said was for both of us, but some things were individual, so I got to hear a little bit about her treatment.

The chemicals in both our chemo treatments will be completely different. Therefore, side effects will be different. For instance, she was told that she would lose all her hair. I was told I might lose up to a third of my hair.

I will be given one chemical that affects how I feel the cold. The instructor said that drinking cold water would feel like shards of glass going down my throat. So, I guess I’m going to have to learn to drink tea. At least that’s short-term, only lasting for a few days right after each chemo treatment.

My treatment will consist of 5-6 hours of infusion at the facility. Along with the chemo, they will give me anti-nausea meds and steroids. After that, they will hook me up to a little machine that will continue giving chemo for 46 hours at home. At that time, I return and they will remove the machine, and I’m done with that treatment.

That’s when the nausea really starts. At first, it’ll last about three days. Gradually, it will last longer and longer, until I’m sick most of the time. Not looking forward to that.

Well, this post is long enough. There’s so much more information that I have.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I’m very open to talking about this. I’m finding that a lot of what I thought I knew about chemo is outdated. I’m betting that’s true for others, also.

This Is A Tough Thing To Say

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This is a really tough post for me to write today. I’d been having stomach pains and nausea for months, and finally gave up and went to the ER. I ended up in the hospital for 10 days. Last Wednesday, I was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.

We’re still trying to schedule treatments. I start with chemo for up to six months. They don’t expect me to last that long. Most people don’t. After chemo, if the tumor has shrunk enough, they will perform major surgery to remove half my pancreas, a third of my small intestine, and more. I didn’t catch what the “more” was. I was kinda shocked about the small intestine part.

I will keep you all updated on what’s going on. Feel free to ask me any questions. I have no problem explaining what’s going on.

Comment on other posts, too. It makes my day to see people interacting with my blog. I figure that staying as positive as I can will be the best thing that I can do to get through this.

Sorry to dump this on you all, but I wanted to explain what’s going on, since it might affect my ability to post on a regular basis.