Incurable diagnosis and new mass found on latest scan. How is this possible?

Hi, I'm new to this forum today.   My wife had whipple procedure on 8/10/24. They said it was successful. She'd lost a lot of weight and struggled to put it back on post op. Thr tumour was non invasive. The last two scans she had were 27/12/24, and 12/1/25. The 27/12 scan was clear, but then the last scan 12/1 showed a 'new mass', which they now say is incurable. How this is possible I have no idea. The new mass is at the root of the mesentary, the pancreas is clear. I fear she's too weak for chemotherapy. I feel let down by the surgeons who obviously missed something. Where has this new mass come from in just a few weeks? We are lost..

  • Hello  JonB and thanks for posting

    I'm sorry to read about your wife's situation. This must be an incredibly difficult time for you both.

    Pancreatic cancer is a very challenging cancer to treat and despite the best efforts of the surgical team, microscopic cancer cells can sometimes remain undetected after surgery leading to a recurrence. This doesn't mean that the surgeons missed something, unfortunately, it's a challenging aspect of this type of cancer.

    A cancer has to be of a reasonable size to be clearly visible on a scan. It may be that the first scan didn't pick it up for this reason. But I can't be sure on this and you would need your wife's doctors to confirm this.

    You mention that you feel your wife is too weak to have chemotherapy. Her oncologist ( cancer specialist) will assess her and tailor any treatment plan to her specific needs taking into account your wife's general health and her wishes.

    I hope this reply is of some use. Give us a ring if you would like to talk anything over. he number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Kind regards,

    Celene