Looking for a little little advice for my older brother

Steve1961
Steve1961 Member Posts: 668 Member
in Pancreatic Cancer #1

my older brother who will be 67 in a few weeks went in for an MRI on his back about a year and a half ago. They accidentally saw a cyst in his pancreas. It was very small about only 2 mm. So now 14 months later, he went for another MRI this time they’re telling him it has grown. I don’t know exactly how much but they want to do a biopsy. My question is any advice about getting biopsy done? Should he get his second opinion to see if it’s needed I understand it has to be a certain size. Or bigger Should he go to a major Institute where they do lots of them. Right now he’s scheduled to go to the big hospital in Reno, Nevada , any advice would be appreciated

Comments

  • TM1
    TM1 Member Posts: 1 Member
    #2

    Hi I'm a 63 year old male and had a mass detected in the tail of my pancreas in late November 2024 during a normal CT scan. I then had a CT scan with contrast that showed it to be a 2 cm tumor. Within a week, I went in and had a biopsy completed - pretty simple outpatient procedure. This came back as cancer identified as a neuroendocrine tumor stage 1 grade 2. After several additional tests including a positron emission tomography (P.E.T.) scan, a spleen saving distal pancreatectomy was determined to be the best course of action. The surgery was completed robotically using the DaVinci machine. It took about 6 hours. They removed about 3 inches of the tail of my pancreas. Spent 2 rough days in surgical ICU recovery and 3 more in main floor recovery before going home. So far, making a good recovery. The biopsy let me and the entire medical team make the best informed decisions. Although I can't offer medical advice, the biopsy was absolutely the right choice for me. It may be worth noting that as a disabled veteran, my care was provided by the Veterans Administration which really opened the door to fast track with exceptional medical staff and testing. The key is to get it as early as possible before it spreads and advances beyond stage 1.

  • Steve1961
    Steve1961 Member Posts: 668 Member
    #3

    thank you no I tried to tell my brother to get a second opinion, but he didn’t do it when I first find out i had a spot on the tail end I went to go see a specialist right away. He said we’re gonna do a biopsy in six months. I asked him how long have you been doing those? He said he just graduated Med school i got a second opinion from UCSF and they said no need 5 mm is too small. We couldn’t get a sample if we wanted to well guess what my brother went in and they looked down there and then they stopped. They said there’s no need is too small fortunately very thankful, my brother doesn’t have it, but he did not need to go through this procedure unfortunately so some doctors this is nothing but the money maker for them

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