Heidelberg University Hospital-Treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer.

Hello Melissa Mary

I am sorry to hear of your dad’s diagnosis. I am not medically trained but I have some understanding of pancreatic cancer as my husband suffered from it and I have been around these forums for a while.

I don’t think that there is anyone here who has been to Heidelberg.

What this article says about surgery in Heidelberg is my understanding of it. That is, surgeons there will operate when they do not here and they are less risk averse. The treatment they offer, which is done here too, is called the Whipple procedure. A large part of the pancreas is remove do along with other parts of organs. It’s a huge operation. It is only effective as a cure if the cancer hasn’t spread.

I can’t see the date of the article but the link seems to suggest 2014. 

On the Pancreatic Cancer UK forum there were at least two people who travelled to Heidelberg for treatment. I think one of them is the gentleman mentioned. Both, sadly, died.

i suggest you phone the PCUK nurses helpline. You will find the number on their website. They are very helpful.

You say ‘we will do what we can to keep him here with us’. I can empathise with this. However, the most important person here is your dad. Please be guided by what he wants.

i hope that has helped to explain things.

Squeaky

Hi MM I'm sorry to hear about your dad. When my husband diagnosed, we also heard about Heidelberg  (we'd also been told his tumour was inoperable).  I asked my doctor relative, and the specialist cancer nurses at the oncology department as well as the (German!) surgeon who did the biopsy. They all said that yes, Heidelberg surgeons will attempt operating where others may not. However this does not mean they will be successful (as in the example in that article) - and they told us of cases of people returning from Heidelberg in a very bad condition and in a lot of pain, having spent their life savings on travelling there. Obviously, that would be a less popular news story. I do think things in the UK have improved since 2014 and continue to keep an open mind about travelling abroad, but we learned that many alternative treatments/trials are still only talking about prolonging life by months, at most.