Getting Diagnosed

CAS316

my spouse has muscle invasive bladder cancer which was found accidentally due to abdominal pain, back pain, significant weight loss. He has had scans which showed a cyst then a second scan a month or so later showed the cyst doubled in size and a. We one formed and the tail of the pancreas had necrotic tissue. He has had scans, mri’s and the eu scope. After every one they tell us they think it’s just from pancreatitis but cancer cannot be ruled out and follow up is needed. It has been six months and the pain has never gone away, it is always there. So, at what point is a biopsy necessary? I feel like if he has pancreatic cancer we are missing the timeframe for early diagnosis. The oncologist says we don’t want to go messing around with the pancreas because he “thinks” it chronic pancreatitis. Has anyone been through a similar situation?

kbreeze85

CAS316,

If this is still an issue for your spouse, and I hope they are not still suffering, I would humbly suggested getting a second opinion on reading the test results. The radiogist while competent may not have specialized experience reading scans specifically related to the pancreas. This happened to me. My oncologist keep telling me no worries. I had my scans reread by a more well known cancer center radiologist and the told me right away it was pancreatic cancer. Like you I was upset that I was missing the early diagnosis window. My advice is to get a second, third, fourth opinion. Whatever it takes.