Hi my mum 67 was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in June 2015, with mets to liver. Prognosis was bleak - she could not have surgery and was placed on pallative chemo. After 9 rounds of pallative chemo mets had disappeared from her liver and the Tumor had shrunk by 80% - to date it has laid dormant - but to us dormancy is as good as remission. We take each day a step at a time. Some are positive and upbeat - some are the pits - but remember all you can do is try your best - I have told my story as we come on here looking for hope and inspiration X - forgot to add - I live near my mum - she still works fulltime and my brother lives far away - you will find strength x

Hi so on April 30 my dad who is 53 my sister who is 21 and me im 17 had news that my mum who's 50 had pancreatic cancer and we were all shocked as my mum doesnt have cancer in her family history on her side but my dad does and he's had bladder cancer and skin cancer both remove with surgery and now my dad is all clear but then we got more news that my mum was terminal and it spreaf to her stomach lining and that ended up destroying my dad and me and we were told she had months left to live then when we realised with chemo she could live further than what she was told but now we gpt told it was spreading even more rapidly and now they changed their verdict to weeks to live instead of months. Im just thinking can she still live longer than the weeks they said she had? Coz im not ready to loose my mum at 17 

So so sorry to hear your sad news. It is a vile disease.  There is always hope and you have to hang on to that.  Spend as much time with her as you can and enjoy her company.   

So sorry to hear about your mum. It must be devastating for you all.  Please can I ask what your mum's symptoms were.  I am awaiting for a diagnosis myself. 

Hi everyone, 

I have just been reading the previous posts and really sorry to hear some of the stories and hope you are all finding peace in your own ways. My nan who is 86 has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which has spread to her liver. They have offered biospy to confirm the stage etc however they are confident as the growths are large and on her liver and with her loosing weight drastically that it is stage 4. They can't offer treatment or operations due to her age and they do not think she will survive the procedures. We don't know how long we have left with her but just wondering how long people had with their loved ones before they left us. Is there anything I can do for her that would make her more comfortable? Anyone have any advice? Thank you

K

Hi.

Sorry to hear about your Nan. How long she has is difficult to say but the only advice I would give is let her have what she fancies to eat or drink. My husband's choice varied every day/week from scrambled egg - just the one! Next day just milk shake. Next day coke cola. Only tiny tiny bits. It was dreadful to see but no point trying to force good nutrition.  Just spend time with her and keep her company when she wants it. Get specialist pain/comfort relief when necessary.  Sorry not much help but this was my experience.  Regards Sue x

Hi Joanie27 , I've posted a couple of times on this tread , my mum was first diagnosed in May 2018 she started with pain in her stomach and back in March and was told by the GP that it was probably gallstones she started to watch what she ate to reduce the pain and was told she'd be booked in for a scan and then discuss having it/them removed (she said I'm not having an operation!) If only it was gallstones , she waited for the scan still not had it by May when she rang me 6 in the morning (dad was in work) she was in agony rushed  round called an ambulance she was taken to hospital where they said she had slight Jaundice,  her symptoms were pain in the stomach and back which got worse she described the pain like labour pains,  she had very light soft stools, she worked all the way through i don't no how she did (she was a carer in a home) they discovered the tumour fitted a stent for the Jaundice and sent her home this was May fast forward to the end September she had the whipple procedure (they did biopsys it came back non cancerous but the consultant wasn't to sure he said it was acting like cancer and her cancer markers were high) surgery went well test came back it was cancer and  mum started chemo December till may 2019 she got the all clear and rang the bell, mum started to get the same pain straight away from the June and was back and forth to the doctors he fobbed her off with codeine saying it was constipation then arthritis she had a couple of scans which showed something on her liver they weren't concerned about,  August she was given Morphine for the pain still constipation and maybe Arthritis she was waiting for an xray, October 8th she was in agony dad rushed her hospital where the day after we were told it had come back ans was stage 4 termail, how was this not picked up earlier? Mum came home 4 days later due to start chemo 4 weeks time to give her a little bit of more time it was devastating,  November 3rd mum and dad renewed the vows in the lake district the next day she was so poorly back in hospital again she had a scan they said the tumours had spread a week later she had another scan before she came home on palliative care and in that week they said mums cancer had doubled the size,  they told us she had weeks left we never told mum this as she never wanted to know anything about it, we took care of her at home where she passed away 4 weeks later with us all (dad, myself,  3 brothers, Auntie, sister in law and my husband) its was the worst and is time of my life listing to mum making plans for 1 last xmas (she passed away 17th) the only positive was she wasn't aware and she quickly went very sleepy and slept from 2 December pretty much 24 hours a day,  mums Symptoms at the end were extreme pain loose light coloured stools tiredness, she lost a lot of weight,  Jaundice she hardly ate some days would just be a bite of toast,  i really hope you have good news and put your foot down if your not happy with something i really wish we had now. My mum was 58 lived a healthy life didnt smoke or drank and worked all her life  met my dad at 13 had my brother st 14 married at 16 they were soul mates, Sorry if i rambled on, if you  want to no anything please message me and i will answer any questions you have, I'll get back to you when i can I'm in work a lot the next few days (carer in the home where my mum worked) but will get back to you.

Take care 

Elizabeth xx

Hi Joanie27 , I've posted a couple of times on this tread , my mum was first diagnosed in May 2018 she started with pain in her stomach and back in March and was told by the GP that it was probably gallstones she started to watch what she ate to reduce the pain and was told she'd be booked in for a scan and then discuss having it/them removed (she said I'm not having an operation!) If only it was gallstones , she waited for the scan still not had it by May when she rang me 6 in the morning (dad was in work) she was in agony rushed  round called an ambulance she was taken to hospital where they said she had slight Jaundice,  her symptoms were pain in the stomach and back which got worse she described the pain like labour pains,  she had very light soft stools, she worked all the way through i don't no how she did (she was a carer in a home) they discovered the tumour fitted a stent for the Jaundice and sent her home this was May fast forward to the end September she had the whipple procedure (they did biopsys it came back non cancerous but the consultant wasn't to sure he said it was acting like cancer and her cancer markers were high) surgery went well test came back it was cancer and  mum started chemo December till may 2019 she got the all clear and rang the bell, mum started to get the same pain straight away from the June and was back and forth to the doctors he fobbed her off with codeine saying it was constipation then arthritis she had a couple of scans which showed something on her liver they weren't concerned about,  August she was given Morphine for the pain still constipation and maybe Arthritis she was waiting for an xray, October 8th she was in agony dad rushed her hospital where the day after we were told it had come back ans was stage 4 termail, how was this not picked up earlier? Mum came home 4 days later due to start chemo 4 weeks time to give her a little bit of more time it was devastating,  November 3rd mum and dad renewed the vows in the lake district the next day she was so poorly back in hospital again she had a scan they said the tumours had spread a week later she had another scan before she came home on palliative care and in that week they said mums cancer had doubled the size,  they told us she had weeks left we never told mum this as she never wanted to know anything about it, we took care of her at home where she passed away 4 weeks later with us all (dad, myself,  3 brothers, Auntie, sister in law and my husband) its was the worst and is time of my life listing to mum making plans for 1 last xmas (she passed away 17th) the only positive was she wasn't aware and she quickly went very sleepy and slept from 2 December pretty much 24 hours a day,  mums Symptoms at the end were extreme pain loose light coloured stools tiredness, she lost a lot of weight,  Jaundice she hardly ate some days would just be a bite of toast,  i really hope you have good news and put your foot down if your not happy with something i really wish we had now. My mum was 58 lived a healthy life didnt smoke or drank and worked all her life  met my dad at 13 had my brother st 14 married at 16 they were soul mates, Sorry if i rambled on, if you  want to no anything please message me and i will answer any questions you have, I'll get back to you when i can I'm in work a lot the next few days (carer in the home where my mum worked) but will get back to you.

Take care 

Elizabeth xx

Hi Elizabeth

I feel for you too. My husband was 58 and passed away this March -10 months from first symptoms.  Diagnosis took ages last year. Indigestion, stomach pain & back pain which literally came on over night - put down to inflamed tummy/indigestion. Tests showed "nothing wrong". He was a healthy hard working man.  Eventually we used my private medical policy my work pay for and within 3 days we knew he had advanced pancreatic cancer. We were then advised to stay with the NHS as it would be the same treatment - absolute rubbish. They messed him about so much that by the time we went back private it was too late. It is so unfair isn't it watching someone you love so much deteriorate and you can't help them.

Sue x 

My mum went into hospital in March because she turned yellow and they found the mass on her pancreas and they confirmed what it was about 6-8 weeks later and the doctor said that she could have the Whipple op and then he started messing her about and before long she was back in hospital because she had an infection from where the stent had been in too long and then they found out that it had started spreading to her liver and they told her she could no longer have the op and she went to see the oncologist and he said that she has 6-12 months. I'm close to my mum and I don't want to lose her. 

Then in another devastating blow to us she was taken back into hospital a couple days ago now because she was unwell and this time they've found a mass on her brain and I am so terrified because I don't want to lose her but it feels like everything is happening too quickly. They are still going ahead with the chemo but they're adding radio this time and I just feel so sorry for my mum because back in May we lost my nephew in a motorcycle crash and now we have this real possibility we will lose her too very quickly. 

I am so sorry to hear about your Mum, it is a dreadful disease and I lost my husband in March after 10 months of awful suffering. Pancreatic is the silent one they say - grows undetected then too advanced for the quicker treatment.  They put his stent in his cystic duct in error instead of his bile duct which just made matters a lot worse for weeks but I just don't know what to say except try and make her as comfortable as possible and spend what time you can with her. My husband struggled to eat so also went so thin so he had whatever he fancied on the day, anything was a bonus.   Accept any help you can get but only if you mum agrees to what they suggest. Once again I am so sorry for you both. Hope the treatment helps xx

Thankfully the mass on her brain isn't cancer! It's part of the infection which we're so relieved about because at least it hasn't gone up to her brain but they're keeping her in for a little bit so that they can get rid of the infection 

Oh that is good news.