Pancreatic Cancer

[Greenbacks]

Prays buddy....Hang tough.

 

[NBAcapper08]

god bless you

 

[charliepeete]

Started having stomach pains about 4 months ago. I thought it was nothing serious, pains were not too bad so I started taking over the counter drugs to fix the problem. Tried this for about 2 months and hadn't got no better. I hate going to doctors but finally decided to go. Dr. checked me over thought it could be an acid or gas problem and gave me a prescription for it. He said if this doesn't work after a few weeks come back because it could be a gall bladder problem then. Over the next few weeks started noticing the pains move around in my abdomen not bad, kind of like a dull poking pains that came and went. I also started having worse pains in my right back under the shoulder blade that was making going to sleep at night hard. Went back to the dr. who gave me an MRI on gall bladder to check for stones. No stones found but he said the was another test he could run to see if it was functioning properly. Had that test done and found out my gall bladder was only functioning at 25%. Was kind of relieved at this point thinking just remove the gall bladder and problem solved. About a week before my surgery noticed my urine getting real dark and my stool was gray thought it was just a symptom of the bad gall bladder. Last Tuesday had my gall bladder removed after surgery the dr. said he found a couple of "Nodules" on my pancreas and removed them to send them in to check for cancer. 2 days later I was admitted into the hospital my bile was backing up, my eyes were yellow, there was a blockage that had to have a stent put in. while in the hospital they confirmed it was pancreas cancer which had spread to my stomach. As you may know this cancer is fast and aggressive with no long term survival rate. They said chemo would slow it down for a while to give me a little extra time. Had my first chemo treatment yesterday. Believe me I don't want to die but I am ok with this now. I am 54 I have a chance now with the time I have remaining to try and live a better life and to reunite with the Lord. I am worried about my wife though she is taking it pretty hard. I will spend as much time as I can with her until the end. Did not post this looking for pity or anything like that. A lot of you guys have been my friends here for years. I hope that If you or anyone you know have any symptoms like the ones I had get checked right away for cancer. Do not wait, with this one you need to catch it Quick. If this post can just save the life of one person on here I would be very happy. Today I am actually feeling pretty good, I imagine there will be both good and bad days now. Will try to keep you updated regularly on my journey. They did not give me a time table and did not ask for one. I will just take it a day at a time. Best of luck and health to everyone here.

Stop screwing around go to mayo clinic, md anderson in houston, cleveland clinic or u of m hospital


you must get the whipple surgery done.asap.......5 hour surgery they take the gall bladder out plus cut the head of the pancreas plus take out the duodenum and a little stomach....asap..........good luck

 

[niltes]

had a friend diagnosed with this less than a year ago. the first thing he did was
go to the clinic in houston. he's on chemo now and other forms of treatment.
at this point things are relatively ok, but this is one tough mother to fight.
good luck, lou.

 

[lefty357]

Stay strong man and may God bless you and your family.

 

[StevieRay]

Stay strong Buddy. I have heard great things about the Houston treatment also

 

[G.MONEY]

Stay Strong Lou, You have to till the end for your family....Best wishes and prayers for you

 

[8ate]

it's about attitude and going with the treatment; some do get better, gl, we are with you..!!

 

[mountain]

Tough news buddy, sounds like you know what you are up against. Glad you didn't ask for a time table, statistics are just numbers, they don't account for a person's will to survive and fight. There have been tremendous strides made and even though you have a tough battle ahead of you, don't give up, you may find a strength from within that you never knew you had. Even though we never interacted, I always read your posts, you are a person who clearly has their act together both in good times and difficult times. If it means anything to you, I will share your message with others, it could make a difference.

Please post when you can on your good days and know that you are in many people's thoughts and prayers.

 

[niltes]

my friend ended up getting treatment at UCLA instead of houston as he felt
their treatment methods were more advanced and varied than houston.
hope this helps.

 

[Michelangelo]

Another prayer for you, buddylou.

Can't imagine what hearing that news must do to your psyche. Glad you believe in God and His plan for each of us. That will provide solace.

 

[CaptainLee]

I wish you and your family the best during your battle with cancer.

 

[Willie99]

I too believe it's important to see the very best specialist possible. The doctor can make a difference.

 

[beefdiesel]

Sorry to hear, will say a prayer for you tonight, best of luck.

 

[CoolBreeze22]

Buddylou's about to kick some pancreatic cancer's ass. You have incredible courage, thanks for sharing your story, you're in our thoughts and prayers.

 

[VIEJODINOSAUR]

Keep fighting and God Bless.....

 

[halekulani]

prayers are with you, gl

 

[halekulani]

you must get the whipple surgery done.asap.......5 hour surgery they take the gall bladder out plus cut the head of the pancreas plus take out the duodenum and a little stomach....asap..........good luck

good luck finding a surgeon to do a whipple on metastatic pancreatic cancer

 

[buddylou]

Thanks for all the well wishes , prayers and advice my friends. As far as going to Houston or elsewhere I am afraid it is not possible. Have little cash, plus deductibles and co-payments on my insurance that is really adding up already. Do not want to leave the wife with a huge debt later. Will make my stand here and now and defeat this crap on my terms. I have faith and a strong will to survive. This cancer picked the wrong SOB to mess with!

 

[Ricboff]

since buddylou's incentive in sharing was to educate, i'll post some information that's readily available anywhere. The reason pancreatic cancer is a deadly one is that the pancreas is kinda hidden deep in the abdomen making EARLY diagnosis difficult. As halekulani says, once a cancer has metastasized surgery has its limitations .(Perhaps with buddylou its still an option; again read up thoroughly on the topic buddylou, then have a sit down with your doc!) A 'whipple' is effective in the early stages. I do believe law was passed sometime in 2013 ensuring greater funds at The US National Cancer Institute allocated to improving diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Is it estimated that pancreatic cancer will be the second deadliest by 2030. If buddylou has children, hopefully a screening test will be available in the near future for early detection. Genetics does play a role as a risk factor.

as citizens we DO have some control in prevention of cancer. Risk factors for cancer that we do have control of;

-smoking
-excess alcohol use
-obesity- long term low grade chronic inflammation can lead to cancer. Maintaining a healthy body weight is a means to ward off disease . If you don't believe me, here's the US National Cancer Institute chiming in;

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/obesity/obesity-fact-sheet#q4

-diet
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet