I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on May 11, 2010, after visiting the emergency room because of severe back and abdominal pains. Over the previous five months, those pains doubled in intensity every three weeks and my PCP and various specialists could not find anything except a hiatal hernia. I still have that hernia, but the cancer didn’t make it.
In this blog, I’ll explore pancreatic cancer treatments. The current crop of chemotherapy drugs are blunt instruments that attack all dividing cells. New drugs are being produced that target specific mutations present in many, but not all tumors. As patients, we need to try and select the drugs that present us with the best chance at survival. We don’t have many chances to get it right.
We’ve all heard the dire pancreatic cancer statistics. Every web page and paper written about pancreatic cancer starts with the same bleak outlook. I want to give patients the information they need to increase their odds a fraction. In general, I find that the more knowledge I have about the subject, the less scary it becomes. I have my next treatment steps planned based on my health history and what I know about my genetic makeup.
This information may make no difference, it may make a little difference, or it might give someone their life back.
If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough
Albert Einstein
Congratulations on starting your blog about your experiences with pancreatic cancer.
The research you have done during the course of your diagnosis, treatment and ultimately beating this disease was instrumental in making good decisions about treatment options.
I am proud that you continue to share what you have learned with others and support the advancement of ongoing research to help others fight this nasty battle.
I am also someone who derives strength from information and I especially appreciate knowing what the current state of medical science is for this disease and what developments are coming down the pike. Thanks for sharing your research and insights/interpretations. Looking forward to following you on your blog!
Great idea to start this blog, David! Thanks for being willing to share you knowledge with so many of us! You are definitely making a different in the lives of others!
David, My husband Robert is also participating in the same trial at Johns Hopkins. He started in June of 2013. In fact we just returned from Baltimore yesterday after getting the next boost vaccine. We live in the Plano, TX area. It is truly a small world. I learned about your blog through the Patient Power Pancreatic Facebook page and a link they shared on your review of the webinar done with Dr. Jaffe. We would love to talk further with you. Regards, Kristina Stacey