January 2014
Hi everyone!
Hope you all had an amazing Christmas and here is to a wonderful new year!
Been a while since I have been on, hope everyone is feeling fantastic and kicking ass!
I am up to treatment number 10 and feeling like I could take on the world! Had ct scans done last week and got results yesterday, everything is shrinking or disappearing! They had to give me double contrast dye for 2 different scans and they actually could see inside of my pancreas at the tumor, not enough to measure it but by what they could see it has defiantly shrunk. All the lesions on my neck are completely gone! The ones in my glands around gullet and osophigus have nearly all gone, liver ones have shrunk by half again or gone! So here is to this year doing better than 2013! Every side effect they told me I would get I have not got, the only thing is still battling the good old blood clots in my legs! Prob move faster if I remembered to take my injections twice a day! Lol. I am shocking with medications! My oncologist keeps yelling at me!
I hope that all of you have good results and show those doctors how much determination you have to beat anything they try to hit you with! Hope, love and sheer determination! We will show the world!
Tanya
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January 2014
Hi Torchy,
I just read your story, have you spoken to your oncologist? Told her/him what's going on? Have you got a good repore with him/ her? They can't give you extra drugs to combat the side effects? With my oncologist if something new pops up she is straight onto it making phone calls to other oncologists to figure out how to combat the issues. Next treatment I have a few more meds between my chemo drugs or before. Don't have those issues again! Other thing I tend to do is call the chemo nurses, they seem to get things done faster and always have fantastic advice and tips!
I hope they are doing the best they possibly can for you. There is nothing worse than what you are going through already without all the rest on top!
Wishing you all the luck in the world with your treatment. Sorry about all the questions. Everyone has different effects with meds. I hope your have gotten better.
Tanya
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December 2013
Hey guys, got more awesome news yesterday, my CA-19 levels have dropped down to 87! So after 6 treatments I have gone from 240 to 87! I am kinda chuffed about this. Started treatment 7 yesterday, pump off tomorrow afternoon! They have reduced 1 of my drugs, only by small amount and the numbness and tingling in my fingers, toes and tongue have been better, I have 1 more dose of this particular drug from my concoction and then they are going to give me a break from it for a while, then reintroduce it in a few weeks, that means 2 hours less in my office chair! Lol
After next treatment they are going to me measuring the size of he tumor in my pancreas, hopefully it has shrunk or not grown. That would be awesome christmas news! General health is really good, everything they told me will happen my body is doing the opposite! Lose weight, nope gaining! Hair fall out, nope, growing thicker and longer! Always been like that... They say,,, I do opposite! My family always said I was the stubborn one!
After Christmas they are going to be doing some "further investigations" on my lymph nodes. The ones in my neck came back as inconclusive when they did biopsies in July, and now that they have totally gone they tell me that they were disappearing before I started chemo, and the ones around my osophigus and gullet are shrinking so fast, they are wondering if they are not something else not cancer there, but the drugs do seem to be helping!
Hope everyone is doing well and fighting the fight with all your strength and determination! Keep positive! You never know when lady luck just may be smiling down on you and will give you hope!
Tanya.
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November 2013
Hi John, I am with Emily.
The first thing I told my kids was not to google anything regarding this disease. There is nothing but doom n gloom! Never shows the positive stories or results.
As a wonderful man on here told me recently..... Where there is life there is hope!
Enjoy what you have right now.
Tanya.
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November 2013
Hi Keith, John and Tim.
Well I have just started treatment no. 5! At clinic for 8 long hours today and infuser for another long grueling 46 hours! Needed to be checked by drs before I could start treatment this morning as I missed chemo last week as my immune system was pretty much nothing. But the good news was my bloods were completely back to normal levels again today! Yay.
I did have some awesome news last week though, I got the results from my 4th round of chemo ct results back. The results showed that the lesions on my liver have started shrinking and some completely gone, my spots on the outside of my pancreas completely gone! The ones in my neck completely gone! The others on my lymph nodes have shrunk by half! Just wish they could have seen inside my pancreas to see if the tumor had done anything yet! But guess that will be further down he track to see the surgeon in Sydney again!
Felt a little sorry for my oncologist as she ws away last week and didn't get to give me the good news herself. She came in very happy to see me this morning, smiling from ear to ear.
And yes John, I am probably the most stubborn, and determined person that you have ever had the pleasure not to meet! Hahaha. Someone tells me I'm going to die, I sit back and think, naaaaa I'm going to fight this with all my might! They tell me I prob won't get chemo again this week cause my immune system will still be too low... Naaaa, I'm coming anyways just in case! (won that one) and thank you for your well wishes! Really appreciate them.
And Tim, I too would love to hear more about your journey.
What chemo did they give you and how you handled it all.
Oh and a huge congratulations! I too am very determined to be part of your 1% club!
And Keith, you have raised my determination just that bit further with the info that you have given me. As far as I can see if people in America are having success on these drugs why can't we here in Australia make a difference to the success rate as well! Hope you are doing well.
I hope you are all having an awesome day, enjoying life family and friends.
Tanya.
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October 2013
Thank you KJ,
Staying positive and enjoying my family. Yes it's a very aggressive chemo, would be nice if it makes even a scrap of difference. I am on a trial, I will try anything so I get more time with my wonderful husband and 2 beautiful girls. I would love to see my oldest graduate from uni at the end of next year. And see my youngest turn 18.
Here is to kicking this horrible disease to the curb!
Congrats on your 3 years! Doctors! They know a lot, but they just don't seem to know how determination and the human emotions work.
Where there is life there is hope! I love that!
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October 2013
Hi, my name is Tanya, and I have just turned 40. A few weeks before that my ancle swelled and wouldn't go down, then my calf muscle swelled and then my neck swelled. Then I decided to go to a doctor. I decided to go to see a different doctor at a different surgery as my normal doctor would have said that it was just my osteoarthritis playing up, given me anti inflammatory tablets and sent me on my way. Best decision but the worst! The doctor sent me straight up for ultrasounds of my leg and neck thinking it was blood clots. That's when they discovered lumps in my glands on my neck. So 3 days later I was called back and sent for biopsy and ct scans. That's when they told me it was in my liver and a small spot on my pancreas. So off to the surgeon here to check bowel and stomach as they could not find the primary. Then, i had mammogram, and check for cervical, all clear on those. From there I was sent to Sydney for them to do a ultrasound biopsy of my pancreas. Was the most horrible experience of my life! After I woke, the surgeon came out and told me that I had a rare and aggressive type of pancreatic cancer and there was a tumor. There was no surgical option, I would get no treatment, and if I did it would just be to keep my family happy! Good luck and you have a 50%chance of maybe living a year.
Well I left the hospital with no hope at all. I Nearly didn't go to my oncologist appointment the following week. But I decided to go and see what she had to say..... Thank goodness that I did. She had been doing research and has me on a trial of drugs. I have a heavy dose of chemo, each session is 52hours (46 hours on an infuser) every 2 weeks.I have had 3 lots of chemo treatment so far with 9 to go. Next treatment next tuesday. So far I have not been sick.. (touch wood) . We are participating in relay for life this weekend. It's an experience that I am having mixed emotions about.
With my cancer i have not been told too much, and there is not a lot of information out there apart from doom and gloom on the Internet. Statistics are not pretty but I don't want to be a statistic!
If there is anyone out there going through this and wants to chat, I would appreciate any and all information you wish to share with me.
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