Pancreatic Cancer I am so scared?

This is the same cancer that affected Patrick Swayzee.

****Life expectancy****

Quote from a website from a specialist "It depends. If it's just in the pancreas and the neighboring glands and we take it out, and give chemotherapy [to kill errant cancer cells throughout the body], there is still good survival at five years. If it has already spread beyond the pancreas and starts going into the glands and the liver, the survival rate goes down. Once it has spread to other organs, the outcome is fairly dismal. It's less than 1% at five years." unquote

****What should a newly diagnosed person do*****

"The first thing to do is assess the stage of the cancer. The next step is to go for a second opinion even if the first doctor said the tumor was inoperable. Seek out a specialist in pancreatic cancer and get a second opinion."

****General Info on Pancreatic Cancer*****

Health News Flash gives a good overview I think without going into minute detail and finishes by saying

"Cancer of the pancreas is very hard to control with current treatments. For that reason, many doctors encourage patients with this disease to consider taking part in a clinical trial. Clinical trials are an important option for people with all stages of pancreatic cancer. The section on "The Promise of Cancer Research" has more information about clinical trials.

At this time, pancreatic cancer can be cured only when it is found at an early stage, before it has spread. However, other treatments may be able to control the disease and help patients live longer and feel better. When a cure or control of the disease is not possible, some patients and their doctors choose palliative therapy. Palliative therapy aims to improve quality of life by controlling pain and other problems caused by this disease."

I tried to click on the link about current clinical trials but their site was down for maintenance so you need to check it out yourself

*****Vacation****

I wouldn't be booking anything away just yet as this may interfere with treatment and she may not be up for it physically. However having said that I've travelled much of the world and if your grandma is well enough/strong enough to travel then the 1 place I'd go to if I was really really stressed is the Maldives. It has lovely beaches and many different islands. The islands are varied from the very small to large. I went to one where there were about 40 rooms, several pools, couple of restaurants, sun, light blue sea, glorious sunsets and lazy lazy days where you spend hours doing nothing. It was so relaxing I couldn't stand it and headed off to Sri Lanka to do stuff - but I did say to myself then that if ever I was heading for a nervous breakdown and needed complete rest and absolute quiet then I'd go back.

****Future appointments****

LIke Angel says below go with her on the appointments. The doctors will give her so much info that its hard to take it all in. Go in with a notebook and write it all down and write down any questions you or she has - and take them in with you (because you'll forget them once you're in there). My brother going through a different cancer and my mum was with him and was able to tell him more about what the doctor said as he was in a daze trying to take it all in.

*****Some Latest Trial Information*****

I also found a website discussing the latest studies/ information relating to new trials covering the drug called EP-100 and combo treatment which may be of interest which was posted Oct 09.

The most important thing to know is if her cancer can be surgically removed and if she is able to undergo the surgery. It is a major high risk surgery. Only 5-20% has respectable disease at the time of diagnosis. Overall less than 20% survive the first year. If she is not a surgical candidate I would plan on the vacation immediately as the median survival is 2-6 months. Her doctor should be able to help with pain control.

Well it's a hard cancer to treat as they don't have many cures like other cancers but they have good ones to keep them comfortable and she must be in a lot of pain as it's one of the worse and painful cancers.All you can do is be there for her' and tell her how much she means to you' and yr family.I would go with her to the next appt as they doctr can clue you in what his treatment plans are and get her on some strong drugs.I am sorry for her pain and bless you for being there when she needs a friend more than ever.Good luck to you all and i applad you.

The best thing for her is cannabis oil! I have been doing much research and INGESTING cannabis oil is actually curing cancer in a lot of cases and at the very least eliminating pain. It does this by creating a proccess called autophagy (cancer cells destroying themselves) in the cancerous cells and actually protecting the healthy cells from infection.

The active ingredients in marijuana when extracted are THC and CBD both work together at eliminating tumors and protecting healthy cells from the spread of cancer.

There are tons of medical studies, testimonials, articles, videos about this.

The best resource i found for information was http://marijuanacurescancer.net/