Duodenal Cancer Newbee

Thank you for getting in touch, Sally. I am not looking forward to the chemo, not one bit. But I am trying to be positive and I am going to fight this. PMA is my defense and I hope it will stand me in good sted. Thank you for your advice, I have some anti nausea tablets that the hospital supplied me with. So on to fight the good fight!

Hi Sal, 

Can I ask, do you happen to know what your tumor markers were? 

-Deedee

No, I can't answer that question, I was told that my cancer is rare and they generally expect a poor prognosis, however my respose to chemo was good. Currently, although they can't see anything on scan, they still say my prognosis is poor, as in less than a year. But I am currently quite well off treatment. 

Oh ok i see, yeah thats what they had told my dad(rare with poor prognosis)- he recently got diagnosed last week with inoperable duodenal cancer. I am glad to hear you are getting a good response from the chemo. 

It's frustrating not being able to find much information online about this cancer. I lost my mom a couple of months ago due to also a rare endometrial type of cancer and I just feel like my whole world has been turned upside down. 

DeeDee, I can well understand your pain. I lost three of the most important people on my life, both my parents and my wife, not due to cancer, but to sudden, quick causes. So the news was so sharp and quick.....there was not a prolonged longevity like this. It must must be so horrible living with the fact, is it going to be today....sort of feeling. This is what is going through my mind as well....how long have I got? Will I get better? What happens if.....what have I got to do in my life? Will I have enough time or health to do it......I wrote a bucket  list, but I don't even know if I will be well enough to complete it,! I have no idea what to experience, I have know idea I will survive. 

I feel for what you are going through DeeDee, because the pain for loved ones is immense.

That is so difficult for you and your family love and hugs to you.

It is frustrating that there is so little useful information available. I hope that your dad is able to have treatment and to benefit from it as I have. 

Hi Sal, or to anyone that reads this, I would like your thoughts. 

Is it possible that outside stressors can act as a catalyst or even a starting point for Cancer to emerge? 

I look forward to your thoughts as always. 

Kind thoughts and regards, Chris.

Dear Chip66

I can only comment on my husband's experience, but you might have a point about externall stressors. He started to suffer from severe heartburn and indigestion about ten years ago, to the point he was buying so many antacids our pharmasist refused to sell him any more until he saw a doctor. Our GP advised him to lay off spicy/fatty food and cut down the antacids tablets but did not suggest doing any investigations at the hospital.

In early 2018 he literally could not eat and said he felt food was building up in his stomach - which is was due to the tumour in his duodenum. After the diagnosis, he asked if it might have begun with the heartburn but they couldn't say, other than duodenal cancers are very slow growing - so it could have started then.

This is all speculation though as no one seems to know for sure.

Sally, thank you so much for your answer. I can virtually mirror thoughs  symptoms. I have suffered with reflux for some years. My GP put me on Lansoprazole to ease that and it worked. The main reason for the reflux was stress related.

It's only till October that I started with what I thought was at first constipation, then feeling sick and nauseous, lethargy to the point where I was being violently sick every night, that, eventually, I was sent for an Endoscopy and the doctor there advised me to go on Emeprozole, as there was a build up of liquid in my stomach and they could not get the camera through it to the duodenum. By the time I had changed over my meds, a month had passed and I went for my second Endoscopy, that's when they found a mass in my Duodenum and I was immediately admitted to hospital. That's when they opened me up and discovered the cancer and it had spread with virosity, that it was deemend inoperable.

Strange how this Duodenal Cancer is now seeming to be more common and yet little is known about it? 

You said Duodenal Cancer is slow growing and yet my symptoms started in the October, I was rushed in to hospital for an emergency Blood transfusion as my cell count was dangerously low, less than a week later I had acute pancreatitis and again in hospital for a four day period, where they did various scans etc and said I was cancer free, then the symptoms came back and bang Duodenal Cancer. From so Called cancer free to full blown Duodenal Cancer in less than four weeks, that's hardly slow growing, unless they missed something when I was in for acute pancreatitis. I shall never know.