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[Guest guest]

> My name eric, I was on here a few years ago. I have chronic

pancreatitis. It is getting worst. I am having a CT scan May7.

I am concern about cancer I have pain in front & back. By way is

there new medicine? I have this for 6 years. My DOC. gives me

pain med, but no narcotics.

Lusby, MD

Dear ,

Welcome back. I'm sorry that your pain is progressing to the

point where further studies are having to be done. Have the

doctors done an earlier CT-scans or imaging tests to use as

reference with the one the will be doing next week?

I've only had chronic pancreatitis for two years, so I'm not sure if

the medicines available now are any different than what was in

use six years ago. There have been many medical

advancements as far as surgical procedures go, such as the

islet transplants we were discussing in some earlier posts

today. One of our members who has had more tenure with this

disease would have to answer your questions as to whether

what we're using today is relatively new.

At this time, there is no one blood test that can conclusively

determine pancreatic cancer. Your CT-scan should show

enough to let your physican determine if there are any signs of it.

and there is also an in-vitro tumor marker test called the CA-19-9

that enables physicians to see if there is any progression of the

disease. If you have concerns about this, you should ask your

gastroenterologist to have the test done.

Good luck with your CT-scan next week. Let us know how it

goes, and feel free to post with any questions you may have in

the meantime.

With hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

Regional Rep.

PAI, Intl.

Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and

should not be substituted for professional medical consultation.