crissie
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This is what I found online:
Periampullary tumours are those that arise within 2 cm of the ampulla of Vater in the duodenum
Tumours that fall under this group includes four main types of tumours 1,4
• pancreatic head / uncinate process tumours – includes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma involving head and uncinate process of the pancreas
•lower common bile duct tumours – includes types of cholangiocarcinoma involving the intra-pancreatic distal bile duct
• ampullary tumours – those originating from the ampulla of Vater itself
•periampullary duodenal carcinomaAlthough patients with periampullary tumors have similar symptoms at presentation, they exhibit different clinical outcomes according to the origin of these tumours.
No I don’t know how they made the decision. My dad is in MN and I am in TX. I thought my dad said they think it came from the gallbladder or something. He has lymph node involvement but no other masses. They said they can’t do surgery….he is on palliative care. Gem/Cis every other week and replacing his stent every 3 months. He is tolerating it well and after his first 2 months the tumor shrank from 2.5 to 1.7 cm. Now it is stable at that size for about 5 months.
In reality…the cancer could be pancreatic and invaded the bile duct? I am just trying to wrap my head around this.
My dad is going gem cis and has not had any side effects. He actually says he feels better after chemo (because they give him steroids). He has been on this regimen since May 2013 with no side effects.
My dad is doing 2/1 regimen with Gem/Cis. He is not able to have surgery.
My advice is to write a list of questions you have and give it to the doctor for him to WRITE the answers along with telling you. That way you can re-read them.
Remember…the doctor is working for you. You can ask him questions whenever you have them and if you have a problem or don’t understand ask again.
I have no idea. My dad smokes and he got it…
He has always had good blood work and never has been sick. It is so strange. My dad is 66 and just retired then got the diagnosis. Life is not fair.
My dad is going to Mayo….he is in Minnesota. He likes the doctors and they know what they are talking about.
Well on the study front, I work for a Contract Research Organization…we do drug studies so I am up on that type of information. They suggested a study for my dad but it was only a Phase I and we wanted to go the standard treatment route
My father (66) is going to Mayo in Rochester for his treatment. His too is inoperable. He is on Gem/Cis…He does Gem/Cis one week, the next week Gem, the next week off.
He is tolerating the chemo very well. He hasn’t gotten sick at all.
I told my dad this was pretty common. He felt better about that. He also said that maybe the chemo was too strong and they would lessen the dose or something.
I told him the docs have a good guess but they don’t know for sure. I think my dad meant it came from the gallbladder. I don’t know it has been such a whirlwind.
He is very upset and I am mad as heck. He wants to see his only grandchild grow up.
I know there are a bunch of people in this spot…and some with worse stories. It is just so unfair.
I can’t drop everything to be there. I have a 6yr old daughter and a job….and a husband.
My dad asked if he didn’t do treatment what would happen. The oncologist said his organs would start to fail and he would go into a coma. Great…
So and update. My dad got the results…confirmed it is cancer. They said it may have traveled from the bladder.
They will start him on gemicitibine+cisplatin. It is chemo one week, chemo the next week, then a rest week.
They told him without chemo he would have 6 months. With chemo it would increase it to 11 months. Is this accurate?
My dad is getting a second stent put in. His WBC are high and they can’t figure out why. He is not presenting as a “normal” CC patient. They did an ultrasound of the liver, pancreas, kidney, gallbladder…all look good but they say it is uncurable. When they replace the stent, they will do another biopsy.
I have to say…Mayo is not wasting anytime. They have had him in for tests everyday. They said they can ‘surpress’ the cancer but not cure it.
He went to Mayo for his second opinion. Since he is closer to the hospital it is the best bet for him. We don’t know much at this point. They tested his bone marrow. His WBC is very high so they are worried that he has lymph node involvement. I keep telling him that we are at the best place…that these docs he is seeing are specialists. I also tell him that we can be mad and I am mad as hell.
He sees an Oncologist and a Hematologist on Monday. Hopefully we will have more information at that time. It is so taxing for him. He has lost 10 pounds and just emotionally it is a drain.
If it works out I would like to see him, with my daughter, the first week of June. I told him we will work around the chemo if necessary.
Thank goodness I found this sight. I have no one to talk to.
