Dr. Mahmoud Ahmed Abdelrahman Abouibrahim
Internal Medicine
The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.
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Patient's Query
Hello doctor,
My mother-in-law is 79 years old. She is in good health. However, five months back, she was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. It was removed the next month. Unfortunately, her tumor markers went up within the next two months, and her CT scan showed that the cells had spread to another area in her abdomen.
The doctors are giving her chemotherapy once a week. Her nurse believes it can be continued until it stops doing any good. My spouse expects chemotherapy to help her live for a few more years. However, I feel it is an aggressive cancer, and we should start spending more time with her. What will happen if the chemotherapy and treatment stop? She is like a mother to me, and I am very concerned.
Kindly suggest.
Hello,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
Thank you for your query.
Sorry to hear about your mother-in-law's condition.
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the cause of one of the leading cancer-related deaths in the world. Unfortunately, it shows very aggressive progression, and only five percent have five-year survival, and most patients die within one year. The only curative therapy is surgery (Whipple) when done early with no metastasis. Chemotherapy will hinder the progression, but it is less likely to cure.
CA 19.9 is the tumor marker we use to follow up on the tumor. Please send me the CT (computed tomography) report and other investigations done for more accurate interpretation.
Please do not hesitate to follow up.
Best wishes.
Patient's Query
Hello doctor,
I do not have the CT report. My mother-in-law was told it was stage 4. The metastasis is in the abdomen. I want to know how much chemotherapy can stall the inevitable. Six months or one year? What is typical from the time metastasis is discovered?
Hello,
Welcome back to icliniq.com.
Stage four pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the most advanced stage, with a median survival of five months. It means that the great majority of stage four cases die within five months, with very few exceptions who live longer.
Chemotherapy has little effect on the prognosis.
I hope this helps.
Take care.
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Internal Medicine
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