Starting at the Beginning, This is the Story of Byron’s Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer…

 

After this first initial post, we will update the blog with any updates, news, or prayer requests as we have them to share with you.  Thank you for your prayers and love.  Our faith and the love and prayers from our family and friends is what is getting us through.  

Starting at the beginning ...

For Christmas, in anticipation of retirement, I bought Byron a Nordic Track exercycle similar to a Peloton.  He had previously mentioned a desire to stay active and in shape and maybe even to lose some weight during retirement but since we could not go to the gym due to COVID, he decided to set up a home gym.  He started working out on his bike multiple times a day and also started watching what he ate, mostly by portion control.  All of a sudden the weight was flying off.  He felt good and was adjusting to retirement really well.  Sometime near the end of March, we had a yard project that involved us loading, wheel barrowing and spreading gravel (Ugh!)  After our project, his back problems really seemed to flare – he has had six previous surgeries on the same vertebrae in his back, so back pain is never unexpected.   The pain did not subside, so he asked that I make an appointment with his Primary Care Physician (PCP) to get a referral to a neurosurgeon.    When he saw his PCP the doctor commended Byron for his weight loss and exercise regimen and informed him he had lost 40 pounds!   He also checked his back, confirming the back pain in the same location as the previous surgeries, gave him a neurosurgeon referral as well as pain meds and muscle relaxers.   The next couple of days were good – he got a handle on the pain and was able to sleep better.   Then all of a sudden he was nauseous and throwing up.  We figured it was the meds, so he stopped taking the meds.  His back continued to hurt and now he had stomach pain as well.   This went on for about a week until he went to his routine, quarterly diabetic appointment with his Endocrinologist.  His Endocrinologist called Byron later the evening of the appointment to tell him his routine labs showed he had critically elevated liver enzymes.  He asked if Byron had heard from his PCP yet as he had shared the lab results with the PCP.   His Endocrinologist told him to either see his PCP right away or go to the ER.   The PCP’s office also, apparently, tried to reach Byron but were using his work phone number to try to contact him. 

April 9^th -  We went to the ER on Friday morning where Byron had more labs done as well as a CT.   We were stunned when the ER doctor told us Byron had a mass on his pancreas that had metastasized to his liver.  This mass was obstructing his bile duct which was causing the pain in his abdomen, causing the nausea and mimicking back pain!  The ER doctor arranged for us to see an oncologist the following week and also scheduled Byron for a procedure called an ERCP at a different hospital – apparently only certain gastroenterologists do this procedure.  Byron was transferred by ambulance to the other hospital about a half an hour away from our home. The procedure was done on Saturday afternoon.  During the ERCP, they inserted a metal stent into his bile duct and took tissue samples for biopsies.  They also discovered a small duodenal ulcer as well as two “suspicious” spots on his liver.  The doctor was pleased with the procedure as his liver immediately starting draining.  The backup of bile in his liver is what caused Byron’s high liver numbers, his jaundice and the abdominal (and what we thought was back) pain.   The doctors also warned us that the stent could cause him discomfort for a week or two as it continued to expand and Byron could suffer symptoms of pancreatitis.   We were instructed to keep him on a low fat diet for a week or so and watch for any signs of infection.  He was given pain meds and anti nausea meds to take if needed.  We were told we would receive the results of the biopsies in about 4-5 days.  Byron immediately felt better and you could tell the stent was working because within 24 hours, his jaundice was noticeably better.  

As an aside, the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer explains the large and quick weight loss Byron experienced over the past few months.  This is one of the symptoms of pancreatic cancer.  All along, he thought it was the exercycle!

 

April 11 - We went home on Sunday and although he was tired, he was up for a visit from some of our (local) kids and grands.   This cheered him up immensely as Byron loves to be surrounded by family and friends!  Starting Monday evening, Byron started to have abdominal pain again.  Since we were warned that he may have discomfort from the stent placement and/or pancreatitis, we were not surprised when the pain returned.   We tried the pancreatitis diet; we tried smaller, more frequent meals, we continued to judiciously use pain meds but nothing seemed to work on the pain.  

April 15 – On Thursday, we received a call from the Oncologist’s office scheduling an appointment for Byron’s first visit.  This was good news, as we knew that the Oncologist would give us the specific results from the biopsies that had been done and set our plan of action in motion. 

 April 16 – Friday, Byron had an appointment with his PCP who was a wealth of information.  He summarized results of the biopsy results saying basically it was the same as the ER Doctor told us: mass on the pancreas, metastasized to the liver, with an ulcer where his bile duct meets the small intestine.  He said the latest blood work showed the stent was working as his numbers were improving.  He also told us, in addition to the information we learned from the ER Dr., Byron had two blood clots in his liver.  He said that the oncologist would go into much more detail on the biopsy results with us and would set the plan of action into motion.  The doctors also all had agreed (Endocrinologist, PCP and Oncologist) the Oncologist would handle the blood clots as well as the cancer issues.  He told us they would use a team approach with the Oncologist leading the team, and his Endocrinologist and his PCP being a part of the team.  On a positive note, the PCP talked to us regarding pain management and told us Byron could take a larger dose of pain medication.  He also told us his pain might not be directly related to what he was eating but rather may be pain from the ulcer or even some other digestive issues, like constipation.  He gave us some suggestions to try for other things he could do in addition to the pain medication to see if we couldn’t get better control of the pain.  He also said Byron could now eat whatever he wanted (within reason) as long as it did not cause him discomfort.