Bile duct/ pancreatic head cancer

Hi atwilson

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to our online community. My name is Sherrye and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.

I can see you’ve joined one of the cancer forums, I do hope your finding it an informative and supportive place.

I’m sorry to hear about your diagnosis of bile duct cancer and that you needed a 2 week stay in hospital to have a stent fitted. I do hope the stent is working and your bilirubin build up has now improved.

I understand that your team have said a Whipple procedure is one of your best options but you’re needing a prehabilitation course beforehand to lower your BMI.

Prehabilitation courses before cancer treatment are a good way of getting ready for treatment. Research shows that by having this support early on you are more likely to leave hospital sooner after treatment, have less treatment side effects and cope better with those side effects, have better long-term health after and helps people feel more in control.

Regular exercise at any point in your cancer journey is important and encouraged. Swimming and walking are good choices, lower impact on the joints but helps build stamina and increase the heart rate for calorie burn. Do remember it’s also important at this stage to fuel your body with a balanced diet. We have a booklet you may find helpful with this.

Prehabilitation also focuses on other areas you may need support with pre-treatment, if you feel you need some further support with your diet and exercise you can ask your team for a referral to the dietitian team and physiotherapy team as they are specialised in these areas.

It’s natural to feel exhausted and overwhelmed at a time like this and that’s ok, there’s no right or wrong way to feel. It would be helpful to let your GP or hospital team know how you’re feeling so they can support you through this.

There are ways you can self-help if you’d prefer, mind-body therapies may help you relax and cope better at this stage. Maggie’s have lots of information on managing emotionally and practically, they may even have a walk in centre local to you for face to face support.

It’s very understandable to worry about the wait for treatment, even more so when you’ve been told it’s an aggressive cancer. The cancer waiting time target to start treatment in the UK is: no more than 2 months (62 days) waiting between the date the hospital receives the urgent suspected cancer referral and the start of treatment.

This is not always met due to a few different reasons such as:

            >More tests being needed before a plan is set

            >A referral to another consultant or hospital that is more specialised

            >More preparation for treatment is needed, such as prehabilitation

As this is a worry for you, I’d encourage you to have a further discussion with your team to confirmed what exactly is needed before the surgery and when the date is going to be.

If you feel it would be helpful to talk, you are more than welcome to contact the Macmillan Support Line to talk things through with us, we are always happy to take your call.

I hope this information helps. Please feel free to get back in touch if you want more information or support.

Best wishes,

Sherrye H,

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm), send us an email or contact us through webchat.

Ref SH/AC