Dr O’Reilly called last night, after finishing the meeting that the team of Dr’s has each Thursday afternoon. She said they spent some time looking at the results from my scans, and the Endoscopic Ultrasound done by Dr Shattner the prior week.
She felt she had Good News for me, I told her it was fine to hit me with good news! J
First off she said they felt the Pancreas head mass looked the same, this is great news because she feels I do not have the “rapidly changing, nasty type” of cancer that often comes with Pancreatic Cancer. This made her very happy.
She also said that there are no signs of Cancer in the Liver (spreading) Yay! And the new stent was working properly and should continue to make me feel better. (And I do feel better!) I am also on some new meds that help me digest meals and reduce heartburn, I think they are starting to work.
Additionally they feel that the tumor is less involved with the blood vessles than they thought, and it is sitting on the vein and not compromising it at the moment. This change of opinion is a big deal and Dr O’Reilly says it opens back up the surgical option.
#1 Surgical Option- So this would mean doing the operation now to remove the cancer (The Whipple Procedure) and then begin Chemotherapy after the surgery. It is quite an involved operation. This Hospital performs more of this operation than any other place, and we had a long conversation with a “fellow” before we met with Dr O’Reilly this Tuesday about how focused and good they are with this procedure.
#2 Shrink & Treat Option- This is what I was planning on, it involves having an additional Endoscopic Ultrasound followed by installation of a port in my chest under my skin (yuk) and then Chemo therapy at very heavy dosages, about 4-5 hours in NYC, then they hook me up to a “traveling chemo bag” and I wear that for 2 days then I go back to SKCC and they remove it. This would happen every-other week for a few months, than we would see where we are, and probably go to another few months of chemo accompanied with Radiation therapies. Then at some point the operation would happen and then I would go on follow-up Chemo.
So I am gathering my information and opinions and will make a decision over the weekend so I can inform them on Monday.
I am developing my questions:
Which plan has the best survival rate? Which has a better chance of non reoccurance ? Why is another Endoscopic Ultrasound required? What Outcome might change? Which option is easier on the body and mind? What is the Length of overall treatment estimated to be with each choice? Just some thought starters…..
I’ll keep ya posted!!
Love John
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