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regulator
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Hi all, as said in title i am new to this due to only being dignosed with pancreatic cancer in the last week, doctors are pushing me toward hormone therapy which after a bit of reading seems to make it all a bit scarier, my immediate family (wife and son) know about it and trying to be very supportive but somehow i cant shake the feeling of being alone.  I laugh about it and say its all ok on the outside but inside its driving me crazy.  I have stopped reading all materials related because the more i read the worse it seems to get, im trying to carry on as normal but its hard. will be reading the messages left here as it seems to be a bit more positive than ive been feeling. Thanks for reading.

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    Hi and welcome. I don't have any answers for you but just wanted to say hello and wish you lots of luck at kicking it. Is the the hormone therapy where it gives you extra hormones to fight the cancer?  I hope you feel you can talk to your wife at some point but glad you're here talking to us rather than keeping it to yourself. Hopefully someone who knows more will reply also. Take care

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    Hi Regulator .....     Just wanted to say Hi and welcome to the forum.  You are so right to stop reading about your diagnosis - I know from experience that is the best thing to do,  I have stage 4 breast cancer - you can read people's profiles by clicking on their name at the left of their post.

    The forum is a great place to safely talk about your feelings and pick up some useful information.  The nurses are really helpful but best contacted by telephone as it normally takes a few days for them to get back to you online.  Hopefully the Moderators (a lovely bunch!) can put you up a link to someone else with the same diagnosis who has posted recently.

    This initial period after diagnosis is surreal and weirdly I would guess that you will start to feel slightly more in control once a treatment plan is in place and you begin doing something practical about your disease.   Also it will be good to know from your consultant what your options are, so that you can do some research and make an informed decision.

    Its good to hear that you have a supportive family but I understand when you say you feel alone at times.  I think your new 'normal' will be a little like that now and again and the forum can really help at those times as most of us will know that feeling. You will find it easier to talk to your family as you all get over the shock of your diagnosis - you need to share how you are feeling with each other as your wife and son will be feeling terrified too - try to imagine how you would feel in their position.

    Just as a little hint I did pick up when I had Nanoknife treatment to my liver tumours (not available NHS).  The professor who carried out the procedure did tell me that they were seeing really good results with pancreatic disease and that most of the Nanoknife procedures he carried out were for pancreatic cancer.   I was given a 6months prognosis in June 2012 so I would honestly say that you must never give up hope as there are so many brilliant new drugs and procedures being introduced all the time that none of us know what the future may bring.

    I hope you get many more replies and the support you need to help you through the coming months.  Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing x

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    Hi and welcome to the forum.

    I can't add much to what others have said, except to agree that reading up on your condition can sometimes be a bad idea. Not that knowing this stops any of us from consulting Dr Google!

    It is sometimes hard to share what you're feeling, especially if you haven't yet quite decided how you are feeling. Give yourself time, I found that the first few weeks after diagnosis were a real emotional rollercoaster - much of the time I felt emotionally numb, often angry and sometimes cheated. I also felt guilty about the stress my condition was putting my family through.

    Eventually I accepted that it was down to sheer, random, bad luck, a bit like the Lottery in reverse.

    This is a safe place to let off steam as well as to ask questions - feel free to do both.

     

    Best wishes
    Dave

     

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    Hi regulator I know how scary it can be but just take 1 day at a time I know pancreatic cancer is one of the ones I would be horrified to get reasons which I don't want to go into. I have liver cancer and I'm okay right now but keep your head up and be strong 

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    Hello regulator,

    I see you have already received the warmest of welcomes from our vibrant community.

    As Max said so nicely that we are a lovely bunch, I couldn't resist sharing this fairly recent link with you. Rosy27 also has pancreatic cancer and had been receiving Nanoknife treatment which Max referred to in her message. More recently though, only a few days ago someone with the username Pancreas posted here having been diagnosed a few months ago. Don't hesitate to go and say hello on any of those threads as I am sure you will have a lot to say to one another.

    I hope this helps a little and that coming here will make you feel less alone,

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

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    Hi Regulator,

    I cant add much to what has allready been said but would just like to tell you I had two years on hormone therapy for my prostate cancer. It was a very effective treatment and brought my psa tumbling down. Together with the radiotherapy, I truley believe it has saved my life for I have made a very good recovery. Sure I have suffered a few sided effects, most of which were the Dreaded Hot Flushes but in the end I made fun of it by having a competition with my wife to see who had the most. I was way in front, both for severity and also for the amount. If I had a pound coin for everytime I heard my dear wife say, "Now you know what us women have to go through", I would be a very rich man.

    I wish you all the best and please let us know how you get on when you can, Brian.

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    Hi everyone, thanks for the posts, really encouraging, i am edging towards the hormone treatments (plus side effects) as i am not happy with the idea of surgery.  As i have mentioned i do have a very supportive family but it seems a bit wierd talking to them about it, to close and personal i think, but this forum has been a great help and i will be taking on board a lot of the comments/advice. Thanks again to you all.

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    Hi R  -  good to hear you find the forum helpful, it has been a godsend to a lot of us thats for sure. Just wanted to say that Nanoknife is not surgery as such, although it is carried out under local anaesthetic.  It is a new and very safe ablation technique - you can read about it online - it is only carried out at the Princess Grace Hospital in London I believe so you may need to have a look on their website.  I feel you should go with your gut-feel and if hormone treatment seems right for you then go ahead.  You can always consider other treatments at a later date and when you know if your disease is responding or not.  That's what I did.

    Enjoy the rest of Sunday, its a lovely day here in Suffolk so the dog has had a  long walk.  Now watching the snooker in front of a roaring log fire - bliss!  Speak soon.

     

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