Sorry to hear that news, but the last thing you want to be worrying about right now is 'how long will I live'. Why? Plenty of people out there were told they had 6 months ... 6 years ago! If you are told you have two weeks, two months, two years, whatever, that's what you think you have so you will start to convince yourself it's a fact. It's not. No-one, including the medicos, actually knows for certain. On the other hand, guess you can talk yourself into it. Try to stay positive. Use your energy on that and wait for the results of the biopsy. Once you have all the information you will have a much better idea of where you're going with it all. I'd be putting questions of life expectancy on the back-burner for now, as hard as that might be. Wishing you all the best. ... View more

Like sch said.   My mother had cancer on and off all her life and finally died of it when she was 65. I'd convinced myself, by age 60, that as I hadn't had cancer so far, I wasn't going to get it. I'd made it!   Then came a diagnosis of a small cancer in my saliva gland at then end of '21. Things crumbled for me and everything I'd told myself suddenly seemed like a big lie. It was all doom. As it turned out, the removal of the tiny cancer was straightforward, I was recovered in no time and on my way. Until a CT as part of the 18 month review.   On the CT they discovered an anomaly on my left lung which turned out to be lung cancer. The prognosis is good, I have good respiratory function, will be getting it removed (lobectomy) within the next few weeks I'd think, and should be back to close to my current state of fitness (with a lot of hard work and in time) post-op. I'm up for it! Thing is, unlike yourself, my mother had cancer, yes, but never in the two places that have been diagnosed with myself. So, has my run in with cancer got anything to do with my mother having cancer all her life? Possible. Possibly not.   Research I have been reading recently puts the influence of genetics at around 20% at the most. 80% of the cause they are now putting down to other factors (environment, lifestyle, etc.). So, the thinking on genetics has changed over time. You could think of it like this; if you have had cancer in the family, you have a propensity towards it and MIGHT, given the right combination of factors beyond just genetics, get cancer.   A lot of people overlook the factors other than genetics, despite the statistics. If you've had cancer in the family and you live a very stressful lifestyle, eat poorly, and breathe in a lot of polluted air, then hey, guess what, cancer! Or not. If you have heart issues on the other side of the family, heart problems might be just as possible I'm guessing.   What I'm saying is that you perhaps shouldn't jump to conclusions about why you have cancer in the same spot as your relation. At the end of the day, you are here now and it doesn't matter. You need to get positive and use your energy on the job at hand rather than spending time wondering.   Ask your doc what they think about the link with genetics and what they think about it generally. I doubt they'll have any conclusive answer because, when it comes to cancer, there isn't a definitive one. Since being diagnosed with lung cancer I've seen survivors who have never smoked and never had any history of cancer in the family. Go figure.   Stay positive, try and stay calm, ask lots of questions, listen carefully to what the medicos are telling you (as this may prevent your mind going to dark places it needn't) and don't forget to breathe. I wish you all the best with it. 😉 ... View more

Not knowing can be mind-twisting. I know and understand! The wait between scans/tests and when you see the medicos for the results is the worst; bad sleep, anxiety, rushes of adrenaline. At least that has been my experience. Try not to let the mind go wild and try and stick with the facts you know. What you don't know, you don't know!   Stay positive, trying and ignore the 'demons' and good luck with it. You want to be focusing your energy on getting rid of the cancer and getting better right now rather than negative thoughts about what you don't know. Meditation can be helpful, as can deep breathing and relaxation. Whatever calms you, do it. If you are comfortable doing exercise, get into it. It will make it easier to sleep and the fitter you are when you go in for the operation, the better your chances and the quicker the healing post-op.   Wishing you all the best. 😉   ... View more

From my last comment:   'I then had an endoscopic ultrasound (they had a good look around with a camera down my throat) and still found nothing. Told me to come back in 3-6 months and we'll do it again.'   They thought it was a tiny cancer hiding behind my pancreas. It wasn't. They found nothing. My GP seems to think that the dilated pancreatic duct (and pancreas) was a result of something that's happened, not something that's about to. (Possible a stone being passed.)   So something else was nothing else. At least nothing to do with cancer. I will be having another endoscopic ultrasound for them to recheck in a few months. In other words, what I'm saying is, get clear with your medicos what they think the 'something else' is in YOUR case. You may be worried for no reason. Or for the wrong ones.   If they were going to operate for cancer but cancelled because they decided there were not enough markers, I would be taking that as a positive for the moment. Have you a PET scan lined up? Have they said they are intending to 'watch and wait' (another CT in 3-6 months)?   Talk to the docs, make sure you know what they are thinking and their plan of action, ask about that PET if it is not already booked (are they intending to do one?) and then you'll know where you stand. Keep asking questions and try to keep positive.   Remember, you are part of the team that is working on this rather than separate from it. It should never be you and the doctors. You are all in it together. Make sure you know what they're thinking and they you. 😉 ... View more

Hi,   Best thing is to ask the doc dealing with your case what they mean by 'something else' if you are unsure. That may alleviate some of your concerns and worry or not. When they said 'something else', did they make it clear they meant a cancer elsewhere or, literally, something else other than cancer?   If it is not cancer, they will perhaps take a watch and wait approach, but a PET scan will give a head to toe picture of what's happening and, if there is cancer anywhere, bowel or otherwise, it should pick it up.   When having a CT scan as part of an 18 month review for a small cancer I had removed from my saliva duct, it was noticed that I had a dilated pancreatic duct (which they thought was probably caused by a tumour) and an anomaly on my left lung. After a PET, it showed no cancer on the pancreas. I then had an endoscopic ultrasound (they had a good look around with a camera down my throat) and still found nothing. Told me to come back in 3-6 months and we'll do it again.   So it wasn't pancreatic cancer, but 'something else'. (Unfortunately, the PET also showed that the anomaly on my lung was probably cancer and a biopsy confirmed it. (The prognosis is good.))   So, it may be better than you're thinking rather than worse, but the only way to find out is to keep the lines of communication open with the medicos and ask plenty of questions. They are human, just like you and I, not Gods, and you have every right to know what they're thinking. Keep a piece of paper handy and scribble down anything you think of so you can be sure to ask when next you see your medicos. (Some of them don't mind your recording your appointments so you don't forget anything, but you can also take notes.)   Good luck with it all and hopefully, like my pancreas, it turns out to be 'something else'. ... View more