THE JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS
Pancreas Cancer Web

GEORGE - MY HUSBAND


My husband George, 47, was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma in December 2004. We will celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary in Sept 2005. We have been together for 17 years and have a 17 month old daughter, Megan. It all started December 3 - George, Megan, and I went out for dinner at my favorite place...Okoboji Grill. We had a nice dinner and was home by nine. George didn't sleep well and was having a lot of pain in his left shoulder blade. He was thinking it was his back again, as he has had back issues before. Saturday, December 4 - George was working that day so off to work he went. He called me later the morning and was in a lot of pain and asked me to call the doctors office to see how late they were open. When I asked him if his back was hurting him that bad….he started crying and said it was killing him…he wouldn’t let me call Bob to finish the route for him. What a strong man he is!!! He called me later around 2:00 and said he was on the way to the doctor’s office. At 3:00 he is telling me that I need to come get him and take him to the hospital to get a cardiac enzyme test. His doctor had done an EKG and saw something but nothing to warrant an ambulance ride. So off to the hospital we all went. The enzyme test indicated he had a heart attack so he was admitted and scheduled for an angiogram on Monday, December 6. In addition to the heart attack we found out that he was diabetic. I later found out that he did check the internet for heart attack signs, but didn't see any similar signs he was experiencing. Monday, December 6 – Angiogram showed one of the smaller arteries 100% blocked and placed a stent to get the blood flowing. No further heart damage and some of the main arteries were only 40% blocked. He was moved to a recovery room and was doing very well, so I left and went to get Megan and George’s mom so they could see him. He was hoping to go home Tuesday or Wednesday. When we go back to the hospital he had vomited a lot of blood and was moved to CCU. Tuesday, December 7 – he received 4 units of blood and a six pack of platelets. He felt fine, but they had to figure out what was going on. They did an upper scope and found some bulging veins in his stomach but no ulcers. They then did an ultrasound which showed an enlarged spleen but didn’t see any reason why he bled so they ordered a CT Scan of his abdomen. Wednesday, December 8 – George was moved from CCU to a normal room where again he couldn’t eat or drink anything…seems like he would get to drink and eat then they would take it away from them again. They finally did the scan later that evening. Thursday, December 9 – Scan showed a mass on the tail of the pancreas and a biopsy was ordered. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight. Here we go again…. Friday, December 10 – Biopsy was done that morning…wouldn’t have results until later the next week. George was feeling really well and just wanted to come home! We also found out that he has Hepatitis C. Saturday, December 11 – George finally home! Megan and I are so glad! It has been a long week and were really wanting some good news. December 16 we get the call that the tumor is cancer. After the week, nothing surprised us anymore. The plan was to have him on the plavix for his heart for 6-8 weeks and then have distal and splenectomy in February. We met with the surgeon and after coordinating with all the doctors surgery was scheduled for February 23. Surgeon also wanted another scan done to make sure there were no changes. Scan was done on 2/1 and results showed 3 lesions on liver all less than a centimeter and also lesions in right lung. Biopsy of liver confirmed cancer had spread to liver. Surgery was cancelled and he started on chemo 2/25. He is getting gemzar only and due to low platelets is not getting standard dose. They started him on 75% of the standard dose. He had 2 weeks on then had a week off due to low nuetrophils. He is in his 2nd cycle which will be 2 weeks on 1 week off. His CA 19-9 was 1023 and after one cycle it has dropped to 904. We are happy that it has dropped and hope he has a positive scan in a few weeks. It has been a rough few months for us and we are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. To keep updated on his progress please feel free to visit us at www.caringbridge.com - then enter ia/georgebarber

Posted 03/23/2005 09:59 pm by KellyB
E-mail Address: kellybarber@netins.net

Return to Main Message List
Responses

No replies on file.

*DISCLAIMER: This page is an unmoderated forum, and the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Patients are advised to consult their personal physicians before making any medical decisions.
FULL DISCLAIMER
Pancreas Home | Surgical | Medical | Basic Sci | Docs | Registry | FAQ | Appts | Chat
Feedback | Pathology Home | Oncology Center Home
Copyright © 2022 The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Last Modified: 11/11/2002 10:50 am