Looks like I'd gambled and lost

[whatnot]

Sorry to hear your news. Best wishes for your complete recovery.

 

[harley]

I'm very sorry you are going to have to go through all this. I wish you the best possible outcome.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have never been sick. I had never been hospitalized or had any surgery. I did not have to take any medication. My father. a two packs a day smoker, died of lung cancer at 83. My mother is still alive and quite lucid at 93. So I figured I 'll wait till I am 70 to take out social security benefits because I do not need the money at 62 or 66. But I just found out I probably have pancreatic cancer and am waiting for the biopsy result. Oh well, them are the breaks.

Sorry to hear this. Stay strong while waiting for the result, and go from there.

No, you did not gamble anything. This can hit any of us. Who know or can say that they are immune?

About never being sick, hospitalized, nor taking any pills, that was me before I was diagnosed with a life threatening situation. They treated me, and after painful surgeries, I am still around. Got many scars to show for it.

 

[RenoJay]

Very sorry to hear that. Stay strong.

 

[walkinwood]

You haven't lost yet!
You didn't need the money, so you didn't lose anything to date.
And the future isn't known yet. Good luck to you. Stay positive if you can.

 

[ejman]

Stay strong and positive. Life is an opera with an unknown libretto and it ain't over til the fat lady sings.

 

[Meadbh]

So sorry to hear this. Best of luck as you deal with this challenge.

 

[bondi688]

Thank you all for your support, I was asked about the symptoms: essentially I had lost some weight (which I realize in retrospect). My urine turned tea colored and I looked jaundiced. There was some vague discomfort in the upper abdomen, They did some tests and my liver enzymes and bilirubin are abnormally high. They did an ultrasound scan, which showed a 2 to 3 cm mass near the duct and head of the pancreas. It was confirmed by CT scan, I underwent ERCP and had a stent place and a biopsy done, The result from pathology may take 2 weeks to come back, but the tumor marker level in my blood was high. They are suspecting pancreatic cancer,

 

[W2R]

So sorry to read about this, Bondi688. I sure hope that the biopsy results are more encouraging. If they are not, then I totally agree with Mystang52 who posted above, urging you to go to M.D. Anderson to get the latest treatments.

 

[retired1]

So sorry. Please take care and don't be too harsh on yourself. Health is always a "wild card" in retirement. We all know this wild card exists and will come into play some day.. sooner or later !

 

[joeea]

Thanks for the sage advice. I am 68, never been married, no heir.

Then you haven't lost anything!

What would you have done differently if you had chosen to start Social Security benefits at 62? Whatever that would have been, it's over. Now you get to decide what you will do going forward, and for the rest of your life.

I've always believed that the secret to a good life is to live each day well, enjoy what you are doing on that day, be happy, and try to bring happiness to those around you. If you can do that, then whenever your days end, you'll have know plenty of joy.

I worked at jobs that gave me a lot of fulfillment and now I'm enjoying retirement. My wife is enjoying her job until she is ready to retire too. I have thoroughly enjoyed family (still do). My wife and I enjoy friends. It's a good life!

Good luck with your diagnosis and treatments. Come back when you are ready and tell us all how well you are doing! Share the journey and contribute your advice for others.

 

[sheehs1]

I am very sorry to read this bondi688. Please let us know how the biopsy turns out. In the mean time I agree with others about MD Anderson, take care and don't do this alone! I hope you have a support system around you.

 

[NW-Bound]

Here on this forum, whenever the word c* comes up, people talk about MD Anderson. I heard of this medical chain, but have no experience nor know anybody who does.

Can anybody do a community service to point out some statistics about different medical centers that treat cancer? Survival rates would be highly relevant. Next would be cost.

 

[Teacher Terry]

A friend of mine was told her lung cancer was too far advanced so nothing they could do. She goes to MD Anderson who does chemo until it shrinks, then surgery and she is alive 7 years later.

 

[samclem]

Bondi688,
Best wishes as you face this.

 

[kimcdougc]

So sorry for your situation. I just spent 2 months with my dad of 80. They told us they thought he had pancreatic cancer. Took him to MD Anderson in Houston. They did a biopsy and it came back inconclusive. Did another biopsy and it came back the same. In the meantime he needed heart surgery. Long story short, I learned they cannot always tell with a biopsy if it is cancer or not unless they take the biopsy from an exact spot where the cancer is suppose to be. The Dr. at MD Anderson said in his professional opinion that my dad still had stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

So, they went ahead and did the aortic valve replacement in December since they couldn't say for sure if he had the cancer or not. He almost died several times during his recovery from the heart surgery because his blood pressure got so low. Fast forward, he is at home living independently and reached 81 years of age in January. So, never, never lose hope of any kind. If he did have pancreatic cancer, he would have been dead by now. So, my point is the best doctors in the world are not always right. Never, never lose hope and your attitude is a big part of it all. I will keep you in my prayers.

 

[NW-Bound]

So sorry for your situation. I just spent 2 months with my dad of 80. They told us they thought he had pancreatic cancer. Took him to MD Anderson in Houston. They did a biopsy and it came back inconclusive. Did another biopsy and it came back the same....

If he did have pancreatic cancer, he would have been dead by now...

It is interesting that your dad must have had some symptoms that parallel those of pancreatic cancer, else they would not do the biopsy to check that out. Is he still suffering from these symptoms?

 

[ChrisK]

Best wishes to you. Hoping for the best outcome.

 

[4legsgood]

I hope things turn out okay! Fingers crossed, hoping to hear about a positive outcome.

 

[GravitySucks]

Sorry to hear this. Best of luck with your treatment.

 

[Rickt]

So sorry to hear of your medical problem. Stay strong, hope the treatment helps.
Praying for your recovery.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I am so sorry to hear this. *IF* it turns out to be pancreatic cancer, you take solace in that treatments have come very far in recent years. My DW works with someone who was given 3 months to live, but a newer treatment was quite effective and she is living a very good life several years after her diagnosis.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Here on this forum, whenever the word c* comes up, people talk about MD Anderson. I heard of this medical chain, but have no experience nor know anybody who does.

Can anybody do a community service to point out some statistics about different medical centers that treat cancer? Survival rates would be highly relevant. Next would be cost.

Good point on MD Anderson. I have heard over and over how *great* it is, but the only patient that I was familiar with was Rory Feek (country singer) who had cervical cancer. Unfortunately, she did not survive.

Edit...sorry, she went to the Cancer Center of America

 

[Katsmeow]

Here on this forum, whenever the word c* comes up, people talk about MD Anderson. I heard of this medical chain, but have no experience nor know anybody who does.

Can anybody do a community service to point out some statistics about different medical centers that treat cancer? Survival rates would be highly relevant. Next would be cost.

MD Anderson is not a chain. MD Anderson was created by the Texas Legislature and is part of the University of Texas system. It does have several locations in the Houston area as well as a few outside of Texas. It was created to be a comprehensive cancer center.

US News and World Report ranks MD Anderson #1 in the US giving it a score of 100/100.

I am not sure that looking at cancer survival rates along is the best way to assess cancer care. MD Anderson has a lot of people who travel from out of town to get care because their cases are difficult and not treated well elsewhere. It has access to some cutting edge treatments that aren't available elsewhere. In short, I would guess that as a group many MD Anderson patients are sicker than average (for cancer patients).

Years ago I had a friend who received treatment there for a difficult cancer. She consulted with several places before choosing MD Anderson. The place that was her second choice (another fine facility in the Houston area) told her flat out that MD Anderson was better for what she needed. Anyway, she had some tests at multiple place and was struck with how careful and thorough MD Anderson was.

We are actually planning to move out of the Houston area but still within Texas. One factor which argued against the move was MD Anderson not having offices in Texas except near Houston. That said, if I ever had cancer I would at the very least get a second opinion from MD Anderson.

As for cost - on my current insurance MD Anderson is in network for my insurance. It does take Medicare. A few years ago when all the PPOs vanished from Houston one of the controversial things was that MD Anderson was not in network on any ACA plans. I think that is still the case but I'm not sure.

 

[Maenad]

Good thoughts for you coming from me too. Please come to us for whatever support you may need - comfort, advice, distraction, whatever. We may just be pixels on a screen but there are real people behind the accounts and we like to help each other.