Pancreatic Cancer Sucks!It has not been an easy journey for my mom since being diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer this past June.
Mom had not been a patient in the hospital since my birth and rarely ill all these years.
We have all learned more than you can imagine about this cancer. I know:
- It's not genetic
- It's difficult to detect
- It moves very fast
- Normally it's terminal
We did the due diligence routine and received opinions from the best New York City oncologists. The course of action was all the same - nothing radical going on in pancreatic cancer studies...
The pain, the pain, the pain...
Mom has been in constant pain for the last few months. Tomorrow she is receiving her second dose of nerve block. We are praying that this procedure relieves her agony and allows her some quality of life. The pain medication has not agreed with mom. She eats very little and food doesn't excite her anymore. Is this my mom?
Pancreatic cancer spreads...
The initial chemo regimen worked fine in slowing the growth of cancer in the pancreas, however it didn't do much to curb the spread of the cancer in her liver. Mom has advanced metastatic cancer on the liver - not too good. The chemo regimen needed to be changed this week. Her wonderful oncologist was able to get a chemo drug that isn't FDA-approved for pancreatic cancer. This direction is her last hope to slow the damage to her liver and prolong her life.
So, what's next?
We're all hoping that this course of action - the new chemo regimen and the nerve block gives my mom the much needed quality of life she needs and deserves. We all know the outcome and realize that this is not what anyone ever expected from a healthy 69-year old woman. Personally, it pains me to see my mother in pain. I feel helpless - what can I do? Mom has little energy to get on the phone, she only goes out for treatment and barely eats meals. I want her friends and family to know that she is aware that people are praying for her & wishing her well.
I promise to update this blog and provide updates to all her well-wishers.
2 comments:
Our thoughts and prayers are with you every moment. All our love, Robyn, Jerome, Ben, Zach and Becca
Ira-Chuck keeps me updated whenever he hears from you, but I wanted to let you know I am thinking of your mom as well. Wished we had had a chance to visit while I was in NY this summer, unfortunately, she had just gotten the news from her doctor. I sent mom an email and some pictures, hopefully when she is feeling up to it, she gets a chance to see them. Please pass my thoughts and prayers on to her.
Barbara
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