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Should I send my mom to MD Anderson for a second opinion
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 10:46 PM Author: racy halford She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August of 2025, we did 7 full cycles of folfirinox chemo, then 25 sessions of chemoradiation, they did a distal pancreatectomy surgery on April 17th, we had a ct on May 18th and it looks like they didn’t get all of the tumor and one unresected part may have even grown since the March 31st CT scan. My hope is that it’s fibrosis and not tumor (regardless the pathology report was positive at the margins, looking like an R2). We start chemo again on Monday but I think cedars will say we’re out of the curative stage now. Is it worth flying to Houston for a second opinion. I don’t think cedar Sinai has much in the way of any relevant clinical trials. The surgery pathology report showed it was complete local with 0/20 lymph nodes positive (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912150) |
Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:09 PM Author: racy halford (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912173) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:17 PM Author: clear ticket booth keepsake machete How old is she? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912196) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:17 PM Author: racy halford 75 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912198) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:22 PM Author: clear ticket booth keepsake machete You're pretty wealthy if I recall. If you can afford it, you should take her. They have it all under one roof. It's sort of a disney world for cancer stuff. Even their imaging is top notch and far superior to others.
Given her age, I doubt much will change. But if there are clinical trials going on, they will either be doing it or know about it. MD Anderson is part of University of Texas system so they are very close to the research. Might find something that will elongate life by 6 months.
In all honesty though, she's done here. |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:25 PM Author: racy halford The over the counter pill that Ben sasse is taking elongates life an average of 7 months alone in metastasized patients. I think MD Anderson could potentially do much better in a localized cancer that has not hit any lymph nodes. There’s a chance it’s not even recurrence in the ct but I’m a pessimist. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912223) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:41 PM Author: bearded beady-eyed forum puppy it sounds like you have read a lot on this and are well informed (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912254) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:44 PM Author: racy halford Yes studies like this give me some hope.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01685-X/abstract
I asked my oncologist about it and he said he thought PaxG was only being tested on people with locally advanced PDAC.
The problem is I don’t know if this chemo is even available to my mom in any trials. It’s not used at all at cedars sinai |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 9:51 AM Author: bearded beady-eyed forum puppy if you're reading studies that are just being published, you are ahead of the average doctor. there's a clear lag between cutting edge and standard procedure.
i don't know your financial situation. and i also don't know how much pain your mom is in like what's the quality of life - i've never been in a situation like that where i needed to weigh getting a little more time.
to me, the way you're thinking about it all makes sense. i just can't comment more because i'm out of my depth |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 10:41 AM Author: Spectacular Background Story (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912671) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 4:50 PM Author: Gaped Cruel-hearted Pit Therapy (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49913469) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:47 PM Author: racy halford https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2605555
Study came out a few days ago. The drug that made Ben sasse’s face fucked up |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:18 PM Author: Laughsome stubborn hell stock car Anderson is worth it if there is any doubt or ambiguity. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912199) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:19 PM Author: racy halford I think the past 12 months have shown a lot of breakthroughs in pancreatic cancer treatment and I feel cedars sinai although a great hospital is not in the cutting edge of any of this. It’s a 12% 5 year survival
We see the surgeon Friday and the oncologist Monday before chemo |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:27 PM Author: Laughsome stubborn hell stock car all the best.
fuck cancer. |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 4:50 PM Author: Gaped Cruel-hearted Pit Therapy (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49913470) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:21 PM Author: Kink-friendly Razzle Famous Landscape Painting Is she vaxed? If you fly to Houston would you be willing to console disco's widow after he does the inevitable? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912216) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:27 PM Author: racy halford She’s like 5x vaxxed. Not flame. She thinks there is a possibility the vaccine contributed (not a smoker not a drinker etc.)
Yes I’d hang out with disco if I went to Houston |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:38 PM Author: Kink-friendly Razzle Famous Landscape Painting Well if you got the money and she's up for the travel and the weather in Houston, then what's the harm in getting a second opinion? You could also see what jag tp says as well. If you wanna hang with disco you better get on a red eye though, I think your mom has more years remaining on this planet than he does. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912248) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:40 PM Author: racy halford Well do the chemo first and see how it responds, then if it doesn’t work we’ll be on a flight to the fries family residence (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912251) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 4:50 PM Author: Gaped Cruel-hearted Pit Therapy (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49913468) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:26 PM Author: flushed duck-like twinkling uncleanness This whole situation reminds me of the state of gaming. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912227) |
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Date: June 2nd, 2026 11:33 PM Author: racy halford It’s like playing battletoads. Unwinnable battle. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912238) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 4:50 PM Author: Gaped Cruel-hearted Pit Therapy (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49913467) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 12:11 AM Author: angry electric antidepressant drug No. She's fucking old. You're just prolonging her suffering (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912271) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 1:28 AM Author: racy halford She’s been asymptomatic since the start and is still asymptomatic. The disease only becomes brutal when metastasized and it hasn’t. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912314) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 1:14 PM Author: angry electric antidepressant drug Then what's the rush? She's clearly a fighter and doesn't need to enrich the medical establishment. She's got this (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912888) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 9:31 AM Author: Aqua roommate trust fund You sound totally unprepared for the fact that ur mom is going to die. 75 years old and you are pushing for more and more "treatment" as if this is something you can solve by being determined, smart, and rich ... Does your mom want more chemo, more surgery, clinical trials? Does she want to fly around and lay in hospital rooms? Even the fanciest hospital is still a fucking hospital. And the Ben Sasse drug is obviously horrible, but he at least has like 5 kids under age 10 or whatever and also talks openly about how he's going to die. If your mom has the choice to live another year while getting Ben Sasse face (which is how her grandkids will remember her), she should not do that.
Does your mom want all this? |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 10:31 AM Author: embarrassed to the bone onyx incel den this is the problem with modern medicine, no one wants to die and no one wants their loved ones to die. so we spend an insane amount of resources on 75 year olds who aren't going to do anything worthwhile with whatever extra time they gain. but no one can say no. grandma needs to say son, i love you but i'm old and it's over, save your money for my grandkids. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912659) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 12:36 PM Author: Aqua roommate trust fund Even with infinite money it's still wrong to view "max lifespan" as the goal or view cancer as an existential battle that must be fought at all costs. Patients, families, and doctors generally just think more "treatment" = good. A lot of cancer treatment is fucking awful (puking nonstop and unable to eat from chemo, surgical wounds that never heal, ostomy that never heals, continual random other infections because ur immune system is gone) and makes the remaining months or years of an old person's life completely miserable. Not to mention the miserable emotional baggage of dealing with hospitals nonstop.
Chandler even if you hate everything I'm saying, I'd at least say to make sure ur mom's resuscitation orders are clear. It's pretty brutal to have ur mom code and have her be full code because no one gave it much thought (breaking ribs during CPR, shoving tube down her throat, etc) if she's at a point in her disease progression/treatment where that's not what she wants.
Sorry for ur lots. It really sucks |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 2:50 PM Author: Spectacular Background Story Don't immediately write people off just because they're old. My dad's wishes were communicated by him to basically everyone who'd listen: He wanted to live and any life-saving measures necessary to give him a shot at living were on the table. He literally looked the doctor in the eyes and said "break my ribs if you have to". (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49913206) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 4:48 PM Author: Aqua roommate trust fund Many olds have that view, and most people are terrified of death. I don't remember if ur dad was a cancermo or if he just randomly got sick/had an accident. But in the case of cancer it's important for a skilled oncologist to "sell" the old person and their family on the idea of knowing when to "make the login glitch permanent" so to speak.
Also it's a really shitty public policy problem: in general, it's a disaster to have olds going to the ICU constantly, getting tons of crazy treatments, etc. But for ur own olds, you want everything. Add in the fact that the olds themselves are boomers and can't fathom dying. |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 1:16 PM Author: angry electric antidepressant drug People get old, and then they die. Some are lucky enough to die before getting old. There's really no good reason to fight it (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912892) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 9:38 AM Author: charcoal mewling business firm yes, this is your mom and you're rich. spare no expense so you can live with yourself having done everything you can.
also you should try to get her on those ben sasse trial drugs |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 10:43 AM Author: Spectacular Background Story (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912674) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 10:36 AM Author: Glassy water buffalo parlour MD Anderson has the cutting edge studies and may improve outcomes. If you’re going to go somewhere for another opinion, that’s where I would go. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912664) |
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Date: June 3rd, 2026 10:43 AM Author: Spectacular Background Story (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5870739&forum_id=2/en-en/#49912675) |