alanc

My journey continues. The latest pathology results from my second ERCP indicated adnocarcinoma tumor cells found. Meeting with the surgeon Monday 4/22 for consultation and surgery now scheduled for April 29th. Brigham & Womens received many patients from the Boston Marathon bombings so things have been topsy turvey with them and my surgery was pushed back as it should have been.
My heart goes out to all the families impacted by those terrible acts.
Will keep you posted as things progress. A group of my grandchildren arrived to cheer me up yesterday with a bouquet of daffodils (16 one for each grandchild) and some homemade get well cards. Mission accomplished! Lucky guy I am!

A quick update. Another ERCP completed yesterday. Heard that my surgery was postponed after a case conference was held since my test results are so unusual and are not conclusive. Test went well with several samples obtained for pathology to review including the stent which had been inserted 3/26 and was filled to the point of almost being closed by sludge. A small stone was also removed and last night was the first night I have slept pain free in some time. Whipple surgery scheduled for Friday 4/19 depending on what test results show.

First I would like to thank all that responded to my daughter Christine’s and my posts. I am headed to Boston today for pre-op and will have the whipple surgery Saturday morning performed by Dr. Richard Swanson at Brigham and Womens.
I am hoping that others will not make a mistake that I did. Being newly diagnosed with cc I rushed to the internet to learn all that I could about this horrible disease. After a fairly significant amount of reading I began drawing conclusions that were not necessarily true about the length of survival and what I would be exposed to during the process. I then began to question whether I should put myself and my family through this process if I was only going to extend my life by a few months. Thankfully I decided to question my surgeon on the pros and cons. He quickly pointed out to me that each and every case was different and that I should not assume that my case was the same as anyone elses. He also told me that some posts were no doubt written by folks who were angry at the time they wrote it. Last but not least, he told me that while he couldn’t tell me how long I would live after having this surgery, he could tell me I would be dead in less than two years if I didn’t have it. He also said he had one patient who was still alive 15 years after surgery. Needless to say I am going to have the surgery and will put up the best fight I am capable of as I have a remarkable family who are providing incredible support and I hope to be a part of their future. One of those family members is grandaugter Caroline age 10 who is a 5 year cancer survivor and is now considered cured. She wrote this beautiful poem for me and I would like to share it, it is titled Hope!

Hope

Everybody has it deep down in there heart
it takes away stress and gives you a brand new start
hope makes you say the “I will’s” and “I can’s”
it gives you a chance to sit in God’s hands
although it is odd to feel this way
god is with you every step of the way!

Love, Caroline And the O”Neil’s

That is exactly the way it was written (no corrections) by a 10 year old who has walked the walk though her cancer was Rhabdomyosarcoma.

The one other thing I would like to share for those that may not know about it is a site called Caring Bridge where a website can be created to keep folks informed. This is especially helpful in letting friends and family know how you are doing as emails are sent automatically to those who are registered when updates occur. This site was recently created for me by my daughter Peggy for me: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/alancameron1

Hi all. New member here who is scheduled for a whipple 4/13 @ Brigham and Womens. I am a 69 year young male who has been blessed to be married to my best friend Betty for 48 years. We raised 6 great children and now are blessed with 16 grandchidren.
I was on vacation in St Martin, my favorite island, and was fine at 8:30 am and felt lousy at 9 am. Returned home on 3/2 and called my GI Doctor who got me in very quickly. After hearing my symptoms he was convinced I had experienced a gallstone attack. Ultra sound, cat scan, endoscopy and ERCP results prompted him to refer me to Brigham and Womens for 2nd opinion.
Scrapings from ERCP were suspicious but not definitive. Other than having a pacemaker installed because of an electrical problem my health has been excellent.
Not sure what to expect will be found nor what the future holds at this point so I am somewhat of an emotional basket case at this time. My intent is to put up the best fight I am able to but by the same token do not want any extra ordinary efforts made and do have a living will. Hopefully I will be able to contribute to this forum in the future and provide insight and support to others.
AlanC
One other thing one ofmy daughters did to keep family and friends informed was to set up a site for my case at caringbridge.org This will hopefully make it easier to keep folks informed and take some of that responsibility off my wife’s shoulders.