Sister has pancreatic cancer

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2006
Sister has pancreatic cancer
5
Sat, 12-30-2006 - 11:09pm

My sister is 46, has always been healthy, doesn't smoke, drink, exercises. Has a great life. She was feeling sick when she would eat. Because our mom died young, at 43, of lung cancer we are paranoid. She went to the doctor and was told she had a lesion on her pancreas. She has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It is shocking to me. I'm overwhelmed and in disbelief. I have talked to her daily on the phone for several years, we are very close. She lives out of state. She is in shock. I am going to visit her in a couple of days. She is going to have the whipple surgery to remove the cancer. My worst fear is they are going to go in and find the cancer has spread, and then not do the surgery. If the cancer has spread her chances of survival are slim. Even if they can remove the tumor, her chances of survival are 20 percent. It's hard for me to be strong, esp. after watching my mother die of cancer. Our family is small as it is, I can't believe this has happened. I'm also afraid for my own health.

It is so unbelievable what life can throw at you, when you least expect it. Turns your life upside down.

Thanks for listening.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sun, 12-31-2006 - 2:12am

Hi


So sorry about your sister.

Hope everyone has a great Summer!

Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2006
Sun, 12-31-2006 - 12:46pm

Thanks for your response. My family is similar. My mom and her two sisters all got a different type of cancer. One sister is still alive and battling colon cancer. I have two first cousins who have had cancer. I had a melanoma ten years ago. We too have so much cancer in our family. It's crazy and scary. I am going to see a genetics counselor and an oncologist to see what type of screening, if any that I could do. The odd thing is my maternal grandmother is almost 100 years old now.

Thanks so much for your response.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Wed, 01-10-2007 - 2:37pm

Welcome to the board happymomtwice :)

Judy

cl-ivhjude

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2006
Wed, 01-10-2007 - 3:10pm

Thanks Judy so much for your message. I was sorry to hear about your cancer and that of your family members, but it was good to hear that you have been managing it well and have lived!!! That is good news and your message provides hope.

My sister handled the surgery well, although it is a tough surgery (whipple). She is strong and in control. She's just trying to get her digestive tract working again since it's been reconfigured. Every day she get's better. It's difficult to think about what she will have to go through when she has recovered from this surgery. There is an interesting and somewhat successful research program in Seattle, WA, which has had great outcomes, but is very toxic.

She doesn't even want to think about that right now, but that is what she probably will have to do to survive this thing. It felt good to be able to help her in the hospital and wait on her hand and foot. I felt useful and she was very happy to have me there although she may remember very little of it because of all of the drugs.

Thanks again for your message.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Fri, 01-12-2007 - 11:27am

As I was reading your reply to my post and you mentioned the digestive track being out of whack I sat here nodding my head.

Judy

cl-ivhjude