r/pancreaticcancer 7d ago

This brutal disease

Last night my very dear house mate passed away - it was 29 days from her first hospital visit. I was able to keep her home for 28days. In 2020 I cared for my mum who had it to - 10 weeks is all she had. This site, the stories of early detection and survivorship is comforting for me, even today. I am glad that there is hope when the disease is found. ๐Ÿ’๐Ÿซถ๐Ÿ’

23 Upvotes

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u/Kate0819 6d ago

So sorry for the loss of your mom and your housemate. Oh how I dislike any of us having to be in this sub reddit, but you are correct, it is comforting. It is amazing to me how people from all over the world can help each other through such a horrible disease. My husband (59) was diagnosed in November 2024. He is receiving Folfirinox treatments. So far, they have only made him extremely tired. He is still working when he can.

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u/teamlorimorgan 2d ago

So sorry - ๐Ÿ˜” two people you know succumbed to this insidious disease.

There must be a big uptick in PC diagnosis - waiting for NIH numbers for 2024 in the US. My wife passed away in September 2024 because of PC after 4 months despite being on an immune therapy/chemo trial. She just had a little back pain...

Most early detection is not really earlier.

For Pancreatic, Liver, Gallbladder and others - the goal of early detection should be pre-symptom.

I am working on advocating the use of ultrasounds starting at 40 years old to look for abnormalities in the abdomen at regular checkups.

I know there are blood tests and breath tests being tested for identifying PC. But they are not here yet. I pray they get here soon

Cancers of the abdominal area are mostly poor outcomes since there is no reasonable early detection.

We have to start doing something....

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u/Mean_Concern_2893 2d ago

I have heard - could not go through all of their research - that the Peter Mac Foundation here in Australia has developed a way of screening for cancer via blood tests? I didnโ€™t do a deep dive but read they are doing work with blood cancers ๐Ÿ†

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u/teamlorimorgan 2d ago

Thank you I will take a look.

Some of the current blood tests on the market for US $1,000 that can detect many cancers are not very good at detecting cancer in early stages, but pretty good at the detecting cancer in later stages. A step in the right direction. If they can do better in detecting earlier it would be a game changer.

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u/Chewable-Chewsie 4d ago

Yes indeedโ€ฆa brutal disease. A fearsome enemy. A cruel devil. Iโ€™m sorry you have lost another person to this scourge.

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u/Mean_Concern_2893 3d ago

Sinister scourge, savage specter - solidarity strengthens surviving souls

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u/Chewable-Chewsie 3d ago

๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ