He was not eating well for quite a while and his memory was starting to concern us. In the early fall he went to see a neurologist who diagnosed him with dementia and prescribed a medication that is supposed to help with cognitive impairment. That was going okay until his dose was increased. The increase "seemed" to cause him pain. His body hurt, he didn't feel well. The doctor took his dose down but the pain was still there. He saw his orthopedist who gave him an injection in his back for the pain, which Dad said felt like he'd been kicked in the back. He also prescribed physical therapy which he began doing regularly. Because Dad was losing weight and had no appetite, the neurologist gave him another medication to boost his appetite and fight depression. Next thing you know, he was itching like crazy and covered in a rash. Uh oh. Could it be the new medication? He went to his primary care doc who he's seen for many years. The doctor didn't say anything about his weight loss but was baffled by his rash. He gave him a steroid shot for the itching. It was worse days later. He went to the Saturday clinic of his primary care doc. She prescribed antihistamines. We were supposed to all be going to a wedding in and Dad was going to drive to my house so we could all go together. Instead, he said he felt so bad he just couldn't drive to me or go to the wedding. I said, "Dad, I'm picking you up."
What I found was a thin, frail, YELLOW Herbie. I took him to urgent care. They took one look at him and knew he had jaundice. They checked his urine - WHOA - and his blood. His bilirubin was 18. It's supposed to be around 1. She sent him for a CT scan and they found an enlarged gallbladder and a mass in the head of his pancreas. He was admitted to the hospital the next morning and was wheeled into surgery by 5 p.m. that afternoon. They performed an ERCP - a stent was inserted into his bile duct to allow his liver to drain. He stayed in the hospital a few days and had more scans and tests and that's when they diagnosed him with pancreatic cancer.
Jump forward a couple of weeks. Dad is living here in Cary with us. Family has come to visit. Friends are sending love and well wishes. Dad is eating and getting stronger. He's put on a couple of pounds. His bilirubin at last count was 1.7. YES! He started chemotherapy last Thursday and did very well for the first time. If he continues to tolerate it he will be on a regular regimen of chemotherapy in hopes of shrinking the tumor, making him more comfortable and giving him a bit more time to hang around and drive everyone nuts. :)
Any questions?