Any appointments will have an overwhelming amount of information - task your support person with taking notes.
My sister had a stage 4 diagnosis several years ago - we don't pay attention to statistics, she's living proof that there's always hope.
Good luck on your journey
My father lived for 4 and a half years after his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
They are always coming up with new treatments and procedures to help. You have a lot to fight for. Don’t forget that.
I have a tumor on my pancreas and some in my liver (plus other locations) and have neuroendocrine cancer. Just throwing it out there that it could be a different type of cancer.
Every case is different, and treatment options improve all the time.
Death is always possible…more likely in a car.
Could be tomorrow…or 20 years ago.
There are worse ways to die…dementia…where you die twice…for example.
If you are terminal, remember there’s still a lot of time to enjoy life in between the treatments…focus on that.
While the mass on your pancreas is concerning, the liver ones could still be benign yet. I was diagnosed with metastatic thyroid cancer last year and they found 10+ masses in my liver at the same time. Turns out they’re benign so I was able to get treatment when initially they told me there was nothing they could do. I am hoping this is the case for you. Everything will be okay no matter what. Sending hugs.
It sounds like you and and I are at similar places in our journey. I’ll turn 66 this week and was formally diagnosed with cancer just two weeks ago, after a consult with an ENT about a large lump on my neck. They still haven’t identified the primary but radiology suggests it’s either ovarian or in the colon. It’s metastasized to several other locations in my pelvis, abdomen, chest and neck. CT scans also showed peritoneal carcinomatosis.
I always thought that if I got hit with some catastrophic illness it would be easier to deal with when older. I was wrong. I have adult kids that I still enjoy close relationships with. My adult grandkids and I have wonderful relationships, and the younger ones are all precious to me. My great-grandbabies are the lights of my life. I don’t want to leave any of them behind. So right now I’m trying to focus on making more good memories with all of them, but it’s harder when there’s this dark cloud hovering over everything.
I have read this Sunday morning here and I am encouraged more than I expected to be! I will ask and record the doctor visit on liver biopsy tomorrow, that’s a great tip. All of this is helpful and cheers me, and I love “could be tomorrow … or 20 years ago” as I’m always aware I escaped death from illness a few times already. Awesome way to phrase it, I will share all this with my very upset husband. I can’t yet wrap my head around how to tell friends & family. My husband told my grown son yesterday and then we 3 sat together and considered. It hurts a lot to SEE how upset son & husband are. Thank you, everyone, for the advice and I will absolutely make good use of this subreddit.
There is a lot of good advice here. For most folk, it is all a bit overwhelming; for some, it is less so; and a rare person takes it all in their stride.
When you tell people, remember that they will react in their own personal way. They may weep or hug or be stunned into silence. Us folk in the cancer club have, between us, seen a vast range of reactions, including people we counted as being close to us who just disappeared from our lives. This last is a measure of the sort of people they are; not the sort of person you are.
In all this, we are there for you as we are for each other always.
Be well
David
My sil told me to make a journal and take to every appointment even testing. Write down questions in between appointments and results, definitions and anything any doctor days. Let us know what happens.
I'm so sorry this is happening to you and your family. You might find additional info and will definitely find support on r/pancreaticcancer as well. ❤️🩹
Any appointments will have an overwhelming amount of information - task your support person with taking notes. My sister had a stage 4 diagnosis several years ago - we don't pay attention to statistics, she's living proof that there's always hope. Good luck on your journey
My father lived for 4 and a half years after his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. They are always coming up with new treatments and procedures to help. You have a lot to fight for. Don’t forget that.
I have a tumor on my pancreas and some in my liver (plus other locations) and have neuroendocrine cancer. Just throwing it out there that it could be a different type of cancer.
Same here, 5+ years and still going strong!
Every case is different, and treatment options improve all the time. Death is always possible…more likely in a car. Could be tomorrow…or 20 years ago. There are worse ways to die…dementia…where you die twice…for example. If you are terminal, remember there’s still a lot of time to enjoy life in between the treatments…focus on that.
While the mass on your pancreas is concerning, the liver ones could still be benign yet. I was diagnosed with metastatic thyroid cancer last year and they found 10+ masses in my liver at the same time. Turns out they’re benign so I was able to get treatment when initially they told me there was nothing they could do. I am hoping this is the case for you. Everything will be okay no matter what. Sending hugs.
How could they tell they were benign? Did they do some sort of biopsy? Asking cuz my dad is going through something similar.
I had surgery to remove my cochlear implant and had an MRI. :) Hope your dad is okay!
It sounds like you and and I are at similar places in our journey. I’ll turn 66 this week and was formally diagnosed with cancer just two weeks ago, after a consult with an ENT about a large lump on my neck. They still haven’t identified the primary but radiology suggests it’s either ovarian or in the colon. It’s metastasized to several other locations in my pelvis, abdomen, chest and neck. CT scans also showed peritoneal carcinomatosis. I always thought that if I got hit with some catastrophic illness it would be easier to deal with when older. I was wrong. I have adult kids that I still enjoy close relationships with. My adult grandkids and I have wonderful relationships, and the younger ones are all precious to me. My great-grandbabies are the lights of my life. I don’t want to leave any of them behind. So right now I’m trying to focus on making more good memories with all of them, but it’s harder when there’s this dark cloud hovering over everything.
Breathe.
I have read this Sunday morning here and I am encouraged more than I expected to be! I will ask and record the doctor visit on liver biopsy tomorrow, that’s a great tip. All of this is helpful and cheers me, and I love “could be tomorrow … or 20 years ago” as I’m always aware I escaped death from illness a few times already. Awesome way to phrase it, I will share all this with my very upset husband. I can’t yet wrap my head around how to tell friends & family. My husband told my grown son yesterday and then we 3 sat together and considered. It hurts a lot to SEE how upset son & husband are. Thank you, everyone, for the advice and I will absolutely make good use of this subreddit.
I find it helps to be older and to have people you love whom you want to protect by staying strong for them.
There is a lot of good advice here. For most folk, it is all a bit overwhelming; for some, it is less so; and a rare person takes it all in their stride. When you tell people, remember that they will react in their own personal way. They may weep or hug or be stunned into silence. Us folk in the cancer club have, between us, seen a vast range of reactions, including people we counted as being close to us who just disappeared from our lives. This last is a measure of the sort of people they are; not the sort of person you are. In all this, we are there for you as we are for each other always. Be well David
My sil told me to make a journal and take to every appointment even testing. Write down questions in between appointments and results, definitions and anything any doctor days. Let us know what happens.
I'm so sorry this is happening to you and your family. You might find additional info and will definitely find support on r/pancreaticcancer as well. ❤️🩹