There’s good news and then...

I had a phone call from Kate yesterday to say that the latest biopsy finally produced some usable material for histology. Unfortunately, the result wasn’t what we are hoping for as cancer cells were identified and I’m now confirmed to be suffering from a pancreatic carcinoma. This is a bitter blow, of course, but there are still positives in the situation in that the tumour is growing remarkably slowly and there must be some hope that chemo will keep it under control for quite a while. Pancreatic cancers vary a lot in how long they take to kill you, though it’s usually pretty rapid. The other plus point is that we know from all the investigations that the beast has not yet metastasised.

I’m due to see the oncology consultant on the 10 September (she’s on leave at the moment) and will use this time to try to put back more of the weight I’ve lost. The aim is to be fit enough to tolerate the Folfirinox regime, the more robust of the alternative chemotherapies. Can’t say I’m looking forward to it, but at the moment I’m inclined to give it a try for at least a few cycles. It will be a case of assessing quality of life versus extension of life. Some people, though a very few, manage to live with this cancer for years, so I’m not giving up hope yet.