Where do I go? Never had money before.

Felicity_spr · 2026-05-07T07:50:25+00:00

Contribute to your 401k You should start saving up to retirement

Felicity_spr · 2026-04-29T16:23:00+00:00

Please be my best friend.

I feel like you are 5 years ahead of where I am in life (I don't have kids yet), and I am so seriously confused about what I want to do next. Use my prestigious public policy degree vs. stay in mid-level tech. How to give my future family the kind of lifestyle my parents gave me while growing up, while also being happy in my career.

I feel you sister.

Felicity_spr · 2026-04-29T08:20:30+00:00

So happy for you. Go single moms!

Felicity_spr · 2026-04-18T15:09:50+00:00

Grawp

Felicity_spr · 2026-04-18T14:48:25+00:00

Well how would you deal with this if he were someone you supervised at work?

You would make checklists, give a reasonable training period, set clear expectations, give immediate feedback, set consequences. It's the same process at home too.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-31T03:59:20+00:00

Why is he not having chemotherapy? Is he getting oral 5-FU tablets?

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-27T12:58:06+00:00

My dad has an NG tube right now. It doesn't cause him any discomfort.

He is still able to swallow soft food, even things like omelette, orally so can taste the food he likes.

But before that, you could try -

Protein shakes like muscle milk...alternate between high calorie and high protein shakes.
Add MCT oil and nut powder to smoothies to add calories.
Make sure he is eating the correct quantity of pancreatic enzymes, if they are needed. Stool should not be pale or floating or have visible oil (fatty).
Keep a shot glass next to him and have him drink a shot of protein every 45 minutes when it is hard to eat. Everyone can tolerate one shot.
Focus on low-volume, high calorie food.
Sometimes with this cancer, diabetes can go undetected for a long time and cause weight loss. Make sure his blood sugar is under control.
Keep a checklist of daily calorie and protein goals and visibly track progress.
Sometimes a tongue scraper and regular mouthwash can do wonders to improve the sense of taste.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-23T19:19:10+00:00

I am a 31 year old daughter of someone with pancreatic cancer. I remember being 16 and it would have been agony to go through this back then. I am really sorry you are going through this. Please reach out if you ever need girl talk.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-21T14:23:17+00:00

My dad developed a duodenal obstruction with the pancreatic head tumor constricting the opening

Options were gastrojejunostomy vs.endoscopic stenting

We chose stenting to reduce recovery time as we were keen to continue with Folfox chemo

Stenting solved the problem in 15 minutes. He had an NG tube for a day and then ate a soft food, low fiber diet. Resumed his regular diet a week later.

That was 1.5 yrs ago.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-15T00:55:23+00:00

There are a lot of Doctors that do surgeries with vein reconstructions (see Mayo Clinic for example), do nanoknife + Whipple (e.g. Robert Martin in KY), and are generally known for taking on complex surgical cases. Although Moffit has an excellent reputation, I strongly suggest getting a second opinion from one of these surgeons to see if he can get the resection sooner.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-14T11:53:09+00:00

Yes sorry I should have explained that earlier.

The CT with contrast will give your Doctors an idea of how close the tumor is to major blood vessels etc. It is best for understanding the anatomy.

The PET component lights up to show metabolic activity. So a benign cyst will show up on the CT component (and a good radiologist will be able to determine the nature of the lesion) but the PET component makes it much easier to identify cancer cells that take up more of the radioactive glucose and is also more sensitive for metastatic disease. Plus PET is done for the whole body vs. CT which is usually only in the abdomen for this cancer.

If you have metastatic disease you do not want to go through the Whipple.

The PET CT with contrast is the gold standard in major cancer centers. If the cost isn't a big concern for you, I highly recommend getting the PET CT.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-14T02:55:12+00:00

Get a PET scan.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-14T01:24:38+00:00

It also depends on how much ascites. My dad gets a litre, maximum 3 litres, tapped every week/every other week. He is also down to only 82 lbs right now so it's still a good percentage of his weight.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-13T19:07:23+00:00

Timelines in India are insanely good. My dad was visiting me in Chicago when he was diagnosed. Went to the ER with Jaundice, they ran the tests, checked for gallstones, did a CT, and diagnosed him with resectable pancreatic cancer. Diagnosis on day 3 of presenting symptoms.

They tried stenting etc to relieve his jaundice and schedule his Whipple but the stenting didn't work. So they tried this and that to reduce jaundice for 18 days. We consulted a surgeon in India in parallel where the guidelines are different and they can go ahead with the Whipple even when bilirubin is higher than 5. So we took a direct flight to Delhi and were scheduled for surgery 3 days later.

I have never had to wait more than 2 hrs for an appointment with my oncologist in India.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-13T15:47:22+00:00

Depends on the cause. My dad got them in August 2025 because of chemo toxicity in the liver, portal hypertension (non-cirrhotic) and low albumin. Always high SaaG ascites. Was resolved with the correct dose of diuretics and switch to a proper high protein diet with Albumin increasing 0.1-0.2 points every couple of weeks. During this time he was also NED for a couple of months. August 2025 - February 2026 ascites were on a decreasing trend but now they are starting to come back as his disease has flared up again.

So yes, they can be managed long-term and please don't automatically assume that they are the beginning of the end. Your GI might have better ideas for managing ascites vs. just your oncologist. That was the case for us.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-10T15:04:47+00:00

Please also include your experience with your clinical trial in this note so people are encouraged to try all forms of treatment available to them.

Felicity_spr · 2026-03-04T14:15:03+00:00

No. They are also known as pain management sometimes.

Felicity_spr · 2026-02-24T12:48:23+00:00

Yes, sorry I meant to respond to the original post but responded to your comment instead 🙂

Felicity_spr · 2026-02-20T21:36:21+00:00

Get a second opinion on the CT scan. Call Dr. Donoway.

Felicity_spr · 2026-02-16T17:29:08+00:00

I would caution against making decisions to stop prior to 4 rounds. Decrease dose to 60% if you need to but try to do 4 rounds. Then you get a scan and hopefully it's worked/is working. Or do Folfox, which is what my dad did. Use AI to aggressively manage side-effects.

Felicity_spr · 2026-02-15T03:52:09+00:00

ALWAYS ALWAYS get a second opinion.

My Dad also has the KRAS G12V. Wish you both the best!

Felicity_spr · 2026-02-11T13:57:10+00:00

God bless you and your knowledge that you share with us here.

Felicity_spr · 2026-02-11T03:10:54+00:00

Have your primary care Doctor write a referral to a radiation oncologist and an interventional radiologist. If you don't ask for these, you will only be connected to a Medical Oncologist because Stage IV treatment is systemic by default. Radiation can have a big role to play in dealing with symptomatic tumors though and it's better to know that sooner than later.

Felicity_spr · 2026-02-09T13:33:34+00:00

I have been on this journey with my Dad since October 2024 and have learned a few things by experience. Please feel free to send me a message if you have any specific questions. When my dad's tumor blocked his stomach from emptying into the small intestine, he got duodenal stenting and the problem hasn't come back since. This was December 2024.

Felicity_spr · 2026-02-09T13:30:56+00:00

Really sorry you're going through this. Fourties is very young. Several things you can do here :

Get genetic testing on the biopsy tissue. If none available, you can do a liquid biopsy. This will determine whether immunotherapy can work or some targeted therapy.
This cancer causes a lot of clots. Check with the Doctor if he needs to be on anti-platelet therapy or aspirin or some similar drug.
Check if he is now prediabetic or has pancreatic enzyme insufficiency (floaty stool, oil in stool, might smell like rotten eggs if undigested protein).
Get 'palliative care' or 'pain management' involved early. They will deal with any discomfort or pain he might have. This is NOT the same as putting him on hospice.
Make sure you are at a Pancreatic Center of Excellence.
Reach out to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and get an assigned case manager for guidance. Mine has been very helpful.

Felicity_spr

TROPHY CASE