^ Yeah, she says she doesn't want to live in a bubble but spends most of her days sick in bed. It's sad.. I want to help her but can't.

A good friend of ours was recently diagnosed with this disease. They tried to remove the tumor but it was too extensive and his only option is chemo and radiation. He's in his 40s and just a really great, funny guy. It's sad to think of this disease taking such a vibrant person and hard to accept his death sentence, essentially.

^I'm sorry, GirlFriday:(

My Aunts brother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about 3 years ago. He had surgery and then went through chemo and radiation and he's doing really well right now.

I'm sorry to hear of this.

My dad was diagnosed in spring of 2009, non-operable adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, locally advanced. He went through a year and a half of chemo and radiation and was in remission for 18 months. During that time he was healthy and happy and we had so much good time. My partner and I bought our house, my brother and his gf got married, and we spent a ton of time together.

Dad died in December 2011, 9 months ago. I miss him with every piece of me. When he died, he was still in remission.

Pancreatic Cancer is beatable, but you have to have the best doctors who have the latest treatments in order to stand a chance.

You are in for a roller coaster ride. Joy and pain up and down good news and bad. Hold on tight and love one another hard - make the most of every minute, because every extra minute from here on is a gift. You're on borrowed time; make it count. Don't leave anything unsaid.

I miss my dad more than anything in the world, but I have no regrets.

All my best to you and yours.

Pancreatic cancer is probably one of the hardest diseases to cope with. I hate to put it infront of anything else, but it is a horrible cancer, if not the worst. The survival rate is so low and it's hard to even grasp what's happening when someone you know has it.

My aunt was diagnosed with it. I believe she lived a year and a half before it took her life. She was 53. She went in for surgery when she was diagnosed, but when they saw how far along it was, there was nothing they could do. I don't believe she ever took chemo, but she did research and decided going to a health resort and starting a raw food diet was best for her. I would never recommend this path. I don't think it helped her at all. She started getting so ill, it was hard to watch. It can change your appearance drastically. She was probably 80 lbs and very jaundiced, and this may have had to do with the raw food diet, I'm not sure. I've heard of most doctors recommending high fat diets to maintain weight. I'm just glad we had the time that we did and she was an amazing woman.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that because then maybe can get an honest truth of what could happen, or what to expect. If I were diagnosed with it, I would just not let anything hold me back. Just spend as much time doing what I wanted, spending time with family and friends, and truly live for every day. No health diets or regiments, just be happy with what I had. If the person dealing with it is positive, then everyone surrounding them will find it easier to be positive as well. And for the people with the family member or friend with the diagnosis, just prepare yourself for all outcomes. Positivity and strength is the key to all of this. Try not to let them see you with despair in your eyes, and live for every moment and be happy for what moments you have left with them.

Originally Posted by megancarlene

Pancreatic cancer is probably one of the hardest diseases to cope with. I hate to put it infront of anything else, but it is a horrible cancer, if not the worst. The survival rate is so low and it's hard to even grasp what's happening when someone you know has it. My aunt was diagnosed with it. I believe she lived a year and a half before it took her life. She was 53. She went in for surgery when she was diagnosed, but when they saw how far along it was, there was nothing they could do. I don't believe she ever took chemo, but she did research and decided going to a health resort and starting a raw food diet was best for her. I would never recommend this path. I don't think it helped her at all. She started getting so ill, it was hard to watch. It can change your appearance drastically. She was probably 80 lbs and very jaundiced, and this may have had to do with the raw food diet, I'm not sure. I've heard of most doctors recommending high fat diets to maintain weight. I'm just glad we had the time that we did and she was an amazing woman. Anyway, I just wanted to share that because then maybe can get an honest truth of what could happen, or what to expect. If I were diagnosed with it, I would just not let anything hold me back. Just spend as much time doing what I wanted, spending time with family and friends, and truly live for every day. No health diets or regiments, just be happy with what I had. If the person dealing with it is positive, then everyone surrounding them will find it easier to be positive as well. And for the people with the family member or friend with the diagnosis, just prepare yourself for all outcomes. Positivity and strength is the key to all of this. Try not to let them see you with despair in your eyes, and live for every moment and be happy for what moments you have left with them.

I have a very similar situation with my god mum(mum's sister) as well. As I was living overseas at that time, I didn't manage to see her physical changes but I was told that her massive weight loss should have been a sign. My mum hasn't seen her in 3 months at one point and when she did, she convinced her to get it checked out and it came out with results of pancreatic cancer. She had the surgery a few weeks afterwards and survived it but died a month or two after due to an aneurysm. I never really got over her death but knowing that she didn't have to go through pain anymore(and no need for chemo) made it easier.

I'm so sorry that you are in such a situation and I can't imagine how it must feel right now but please cherish every moment that's left because as harsh as it sounds, the reality of surviving pancreatic cancer is so minimal and it's better to accept it and make extra effort now than believe that she will get better and lose quality time in the process.

My heartfelt feelings go out to you.

Originally Posted by vhdos

Update: We found out some good news and bad. The good news is that it appears that they have caught the cancer relatively early on. It is operable and they will go in for the Whipple procedure very soon. The bad news is that during the scans, they also found a "spot" on another organ (not related to the pancreatic cancer) and they plan to biopsy it. We are feeling a little more hopeful (assuming that the other spot turns out okay).

My mom is a lung cancer survivor (8 yrs.).
Her docs saw other spots on scans as well, we thought for sure
it had spread, but the spots turned out to be fat deposits (?).
So be hopeful.

Mom was lucky..after the surgery..no chemo..and no flare ups..
very lucky.

(Yikes, I still cry..even writing about it..)

Good luck to your friend..there's always hope..