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In the hospital again.


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When I was in the hospital, they took a cat scan and there was a shadow. They also wanted a clearer look at the gall bladder and bile ducts. Dr. Borancin did explain prior to the test that if they found anything they would do a biopsy. It is a solid mass inside the pancreas and does not appear to have spread. If the biopsy does show the worst, it has been caught early which greatly improves my chances.

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How are you holding out Cathy, still got good doctors? Our neighbor had a bout with pancreatic cancer a while back (she was 94) and had good treatment, felt better after.

Your family following up on you?

 

:)

gogo

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Good luck. Hope everything goes well and that you will recover quickly without pain.

 

Delta!

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  • 3 months later...

Sorry I haven't been around much. I don't have a lot of energy right now. The cancer has spread and progressed from stage 3 to stage 4. I am no longer eligible for surgery and just started a different chemo treatment last week.

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I am really sorry to hear that.

 

Have you asked your docs if your subtype of cancer allows gene-immunotherapy? It's a relative new therapy. The theory is that after a while the scavenger cells no longer see the cancer cells as alien. You probably know these paintings how a scavenger cell with a triangle docking tentacle fits on a bacteria with the opposite triangle but on nothing else.

If the scavanger cells got used to the cancer cells it is as if the cancer cells have a rectancle docking place while the scavenger cells have a triangle. So a sort of glue is injected: big molecules which have docking places for cancer and for scavenger cells. So the scavenger cells can dock to the cancer cell using this bridgehead. That's the immuno part. The gene part is to add special prepared lymphocytes.

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Cathy I'm so sorry to hear about this news. I hope your managing pains okay and that doctor and family is giving you support you need. I was also very I'll last year and even making a single post had become painful and laborious. Thank you for coming here and sharing. You've been a part of our family here now at DarkMatters and Sacred wiki for many years and we're concerned worried and here to listen.

Keep strong

 

R

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I sat and looked at your last post for a long time not knowing what to say....I mean what can you say? Obviously my hopes and prayers are with you and I wish you the best. I know you have some tough and exhausting treatment ahead, but keep a positive attitude. I know that sounds cliche but the human spirit is an amazing thing.

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I just got off the phone with the oncology clinic nurse. I emailed them yesterday with the ongoing and rather large list of side effects yesterday. They have decided that I won't be getting a treatment this week and will meet with my doctor in 2 weeks to discuss options.

I also saw an ENT yesterday about a stubborn sinus infection. I'm trying a different antibiotic and plan to go in for a cat scan of the sinuses. They were also really nice people.

I also asked about immunotherapy in the email and sent links to articles about a couple of new possible studies that made the news recently. Thanks for that new search term Chattius. None of those came up when I was just looking at pancreatic cancer.

Edited by Ysne58
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My wife says she is no oncologists and never wanted to be something else than a general doc at country side. But one of her commilitons from university time works as one and said that Heidelberg is leading place in germany, don't know for the states.

 

A recent paper from the research group at Heidelberg:

 

https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0031-1298686

 

I have to admit that I understand nearly nothing even from the german text.

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My wife says she is no oncologists and never wanted to be something else than a general doc at country side. But one of her commilitons from university time works as one and said that Heidelberg is leading place in germany, don't know for the states.

 

A recent paper from the research group at Heidelberg:

 

https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0031-1298686

 

I have to admit that I understand nearly nothing even from the german text.

I didn't understand the part that was in English myself. However it did give me another avenue of online research for 'bispecific antibodies" which brought up a large list of articles. "Nanoknife" also brought up some interesting research results. Thanks for posting that lujate.

Edited by Ysne58
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ER visit 8-1-14

I did spend a few hours in ER yesterday. The doctor took one look at me and decided that since I look .healthy but em in distress that what I needed was to be sent home with a prescription for Ativan. I know this because that is almost a quote of the first thing he said to me. He then told me I didn't need to worry about my blood sugars being in the 200s because for diabetics that is a really good blood sugar. He went on to say that of course I'm getting worse, that's what happens with people who have pancreatic cancer. He did run tests, the only thing he was concerned about was worsening liver tests and suggested I see either my regular doctor or my oncologist on Monday. I will be seeing someone at my regular clinic on Monday.

I did not get any help whatsoever with the newest symptom which is weakness, barely making up stairs and almost falling on a regular basis.

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Yep. Hubby took me down there and was with me the whole time. Regardless of whether the doctor made the right decision, which I'm sure will also be evaluated -- what he said was pretty outrageous -- it does violate my patient rights under both the hospitals patient bill of rights and state law. On top of that he sent me home with the lowest possible does of Ativan -- like that is going to do anything for anxiety...how stupid is that.

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I did follow up with my regular clinic today. They are worried that I might have a blood clot. They want me to go in for a CT scan tomorrow. I think that doc I saw in ER last Friday might be in trouble, as he didn't even bother to check for that. Or probable reactions to Levaquin. I'll find out about those blood tests tomorrow, and am really hoping that isn't happening. I also hope I don't have any blood clots.

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My wife always hated her one year must have ER-duty. She said some sundays it was like she was with one leg in the jail already. Small countryside hospital and on some sundays she had time to do paintings on broken arm of kids and sing with them. The next sunday there was just enough time to remove bloody one-use-clothes, count to 3 before entering the door, set up a smile and do a cast in a record 3 minutes before going back to real emergencies again.

In these 3 minutes you can't do a full diagnosis and all you can say is visit your doc next day and hope for yourself you didn't overlook something.

The dispatchers try to sort out emergencies and move them to a fitting hospital. But on some days Murphy's law works at its best.

 

20 years back when at university and same time volunteer firefighter I drove a rescue truck and the dispatcher was sending me to hospital X which reported over full just half way to it, then send to a Highway cross to have time to find another hospital in the other 3 directions. Two of the hospital reported RED (over full ER rooms) and one was at yellow already...

My luck was that a helicopter was scheduled to me. The target for the original flight was dead already... I had a 7 year old boy with a folded down lungue in the back of the truck. Bad combination of a heat wave with a mass crash on Autoibahn.

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I heard back from my doctor today and my magnesium levels are way down. Hopefully the supplement will help get me back on track.

As far as that ER visit goes, I've been a patient with this organization for several years now and it's the first bad experience I've had. The clinics, hospitals and people are by and large: really nice and very good at what they do. The ER was practically empty while I was there.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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