Pre cancer Whipple procedure

Hello Dudsy,

                      i had my op at the QE at Birmingham. I was in for 7 nights there from 28th May 2012. i went yellow in Feb 2012 and spent a week in a local hospital in Dudley, where i had a stent fitted into the bile duct. I was a little out of it when i went yellow and just before going yellow i thought i was getting the flu. The thought of the op is daunting, but for me the op was a life saver.

bob 

Hi

My hubby had a whipple 9 weeks ago. He had a stent put in before op because his bile duct was blocked. We didn’t know for sure it was malignant or not at that time.  

Only when the cultures were done after op did surgeon tell us it was. Now they say because he had pancreatitis just before op, the tumour had to be scraped off. So cancer cells might have been missed. 

He is on his first lot of Chemotherapy and chemo tablets. Awful, awful thing. 

Good luck with yours

Hi Kim

I'm so sorry to hear that after all that, that he may still have cells left! I cannot believe after going through a major op like the Whipple that you are still in the state of worry!

I cannot imagine how that must feel,I really wish you both the very best of luck and hope that it gets sorted for you!!!

I was told by the surgeon to think and do my homework before making my decision, and although I said I wanted to go ahead, I still have that "nagging doubt"!

Please let him know that I am thinking of you both and will be sending positive thoughts for you both!!

Please keep me informed how things go.

Thank you and I wish you the very best of hope for the future without that nasty thing

Paul x 

Hi Paul

Thank you for kind words. 

It is unbelievable that only 2% get offered a whipple and in my hubbys case it’s not cut and dry. 

Kim

A quick update!!

I had a phone call from my specialist nurse from upper GI at QA hospital Portsmouth.

She has chased up the surgery team at Southampton and I now have a date for my operation!

My Whipples is planned for the 1st May.

I'm both pleased and anxious, but need this op to get rid of this tumour before it turns nasty!

Dudsy (Paul)

Paul, Best Wishes

bob

Hi Paul

That’s great news, my hubby had whipple 11 weeks ago. He is doing fine. 

Best wishes

Kim

Hi Paul/Dudsy!

I think I might be able to help you!

My dad is now 2 months out from having his Whipples op at Southampton, by Mr Hamady himself no less!

He had the exact same situation as you, in that we didn’t know until he had the surgery what it was (benign or malignant) - but generally even if these things are benign they have the potential to get dodgy, and he was very jaundiced and unwell at the time so we decided he needed to go for it.

Just as well he did, as it was a bile duct cancer, relatively early stage. Mr Hamady and co. did a terrific job and took all of it out, and he’s now about to start preventative oral chemo. 

If you’re in the Hampshire/Sussex area, drop me a personal message on here and I would be happy to put you in touch with my dad (he’s doing really well) - he spoke to a ‘whipples club member’ before his surgery as he too was very anxious, and he found it really reassuring. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to speak to you.

The team at Southampton really are excellent and you're doing the right thing. Other than creon and omeprazole (and smaller food portions) Dad is able to do nearly everything he could before (no heavy lifting or hard exercise for a while).

Hope this is helpful! 

Hi, I'm sorry for the late reply, I've been a bit busy preparing for my big day.

Thank you for the kind offer, I will be admitted tomorrow to Southampton and will be having my op Tuesday, I've left it a bit late now but would love to hear of any experiences with regard to the Whipples op, all info is help with the recovery process, i am going armed with my Creon, Ranitadine, omeprazole and amitriptyline so hopefully thats a start.

In a funny sort of way I'm looking forward to having it done. It will give us one less thing to worry about. It's the recovery and coping with the lifestyle changes that are more of a concern, but I'm positive minded about the whole affair, so it's onward and upward to getting our lives back!!

I will be back on this forum after i come out of hospital.

thank you x

Hi Paul,

I wish you all the best. You are in very safe hands. The first couple of days after the op when you are in HDU are the hardest (remember to use your pain pump when you need to) - after that it’s all uphill from there. The physios will get you up and about as much as possible, keep yourself occupied (iPad really helped my dad) and keep a positive mindset. Also, ear plugs/overear headphones if you have them as the wards are noisy and the sleep deprivation started to get to him after a while! 

As I said, Dad is now nearly back to normal but initially post-whipples (for the first month and a half i’d say) he was very tired and built his walks back up gradually. He is now having special post-surgery exercise classes to start to build his strength back up. He can eat normal food but just in smaller portions (with creon) and avoids alcohol and caffeine.

I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow and wishing you all the best!