The worst cancer you can get. Might as well plan your funeral arrangements immediately.
My mom died at the end of June. She had diabetes and pancreatic cancer. She remained strong, but took a turn for the worst on her second last day.
Yeah, I had a few conversations with a friend of a friend who had been diagnosed with bad pancreatic cancer.
He and his wife, sadly, were despondent.
My wife is four years out from her surgery. It is not the death sentence it used to be. If it is caught early and your medical team are not morons…it is treatable.
The problem is the symptoms sneak up on you. If your primary doctor is not familiar with you—if you go to a ‘factory’ provider—they will often dismiss the symptoms. A few simple blood tests can point them in the right direction, which is an escalating process of tests. Those tests become more and more invasive until the tumor is identified.
The other key here is that the pancreas has two main functions. The top produces enzymes used in digestion. The lower part produces insulin. Cancer in the head will spread more easily because of its close connection to the liver and stomach.
Cancer in the tail will mess with your insulin production. This is the type that Steve Jobs and RBG had. If it is caught early it is much more survivable than the cancer of the head. Of course, it requires surgery and chemo. Steve Jobs decided that eating well would cure him. It didn’t.
The five year SEER just broke 10%. It’s still a grim scenario for those diagnosed late. But, that number is double what it was just a few years ago.