Klatskin

Maxnerna...welcome to our site.  (The one no one wants to belong to.)
We do not have a doctor on this site therefore, all information given is related to our very own experience, the knowledge shared by our members, and the subsequent training some of us have received.
It appears that the blockage is preventing food/and liquids from passing through the intestinal tract therefore, you might want to discuss with the physician alternate ways of providing pain relief and nutrition for your Mom.  Suppositories worked well for my husband as did patches (Fentanyl) for pain.  If necessary the physician will order IV for hydration and nutrition.
I think that you are wise in considering your Mom's emotional state by carefully considering options for treatment.  Please know thought that often times, when made comfortable, people change their attitude and opt for different types of interventions.
Within the next few days you should have a clearer picture of the extent of the disease.  In the meantime I would focus on achieving the most possible comfort for your Mom.
Other members on our site will chime in and share their thoughts with you also.
Stay strong, stay positive, and stay with us.  We care.
Hugs,
Marion

Thank you so much everyone.  Mom is on the patch and hydrocodine (SP?)and she feels very loopy and has very odd dreams when she sleeps.  She worries about being so loopy as she lives alone and wants to be independent.  All her kids have been staying with her until she is able to care for herself again.  She is a very strong person.  Just 2 weeks ago she was building a new paver sidewalk!
Yesterday she started taking anti nausia medication which seemed to help her eat better. 
I am praying for good results!

Hi,
May I ask the name of the surgeon that you mentioned ? Is he practice at Northwest hospital near rolling Medows .
The treatment triangle  is always consists of surgery,radiation and oncology treatment.
Unless your mom at 73 has pre- existed condition or the current health condition complicated the situation, otherwise  if there is no metastasis to other part of the body, surgery may provide the best option.
The best surgeon that near you is Dr. Berms at Elgin ,Illinois ,about 15-20 min. Northwest of Rolling Medows down I 90. He is specialized in pancreatic and biliary GI  and liver transplant. A 2nd consultation is recommended if you go for it. He is at Sherman hospital at Elgin.
I am only a patient for 39 months now, as a patient , I think your mother should have the final say of wanted to be treated or not if her cancer metasized . But if she is healthy and do not want surgery ( the only possible cure) , you have to tell her that too.
God bless.

Hi Max,

Welcome to the site. Sorry that you had to find us all and I am sorry also to hear about your mum. But I'm glad that you've joined us all here as you have come to the right place for support and help, and you will get loads of both from everyone here.

Yes the waiting game, grrrr..... I went through that as well with my dad and unfortunately, it is something that we go through. We wish that we didn't have to do it but we do, and it took my dads team over 3 weeks before he was diagnosed with inoperable CC. It is so frustrating I know and we know what you are going through right now. But you have done the right thing here in seeking further information about all of this and the better informed you are then the better you will be in helping your mum.

I know that this is such a tough situation for you and your mum to be in and none of us wants to be in it. But please know that we are all here for you. We know what you are going through right now and we care. Keep coming back here and let us all know how things go for your mum.

Best wishes to you and your mum,

Gavin

WOW! The PA called? You have learned very quickly to follow your gut feeling! I used to feel that I graduated from GUT 101. Good thinking about the 2nd opinion. Even if you see her ONC today you can hold on the chemo a few days until you get that opinion IF you are not comfortable with your answers today. Be sure to ask for copies of all tests and LABS to to keep with you. Best of luck and please keep us updated, you are NOT alone in this.

Mom is with the Oncologist now and I got my second opinion.  The results that were faxed were not conclusive enough.  I requested CD of her images and the doctors want her to come here and have a CAT Scan and the surgeon will meet with us to discuss options, in the meantime my Mom can have the GI specialist insert a stent to get rid of the drain and pain.  That drain is really painful for my mom.  The biopsy results only said adenocarcinoma, no stage.  Per the doctor here they said the only real way you can stage this type of cancer is surgery.  So now, I wait to hear from my Mom and tell her this news.  I am dying to hear what the Oncologist told her.

Hello everyone, sad news today from the Oncologist, they gave my mom weeks to possibly a few months of life left.  Stent is not a possibility as the tumor is at the common bile duct and pancreatic duct, it is very large and they would not be able to get in to insert the stent.  They only could offer Chemo to give her some extra months or the Whipple which she doesn't want either of them.  She is at peace and accepted the diagnosis.  I myself cannot accept it and having a very hard time with this.  The doctors where I work want to view the images that she has had, Ultrasound, CT with contrast and MRCP plus the recent IR procedure where the inserted the drain and did the biopsy, those images are critical for my doctors to give a diagnosis.  I cant imagine them being able to do anything to help her.  She doesn't want to go through anymore tests to get to the same result.  I dont blame her one bit.  I want her to be happy and live the rest of her life pain free.  Just to think 2 weeks ago she was putting in a paver sidewalk on her own and running a 40 acre farm to not being able to walk the beautiful woods on her land that she did everyday.  She is such a strong person.  I love her so much and only want the best for her.  I will be leaving to stay with her until her last day on earth, I need to be with her.  Thank you all so much for your support and advice even though my time on this board was very short, you advice, guidance and support really lifted my spirits and gave me and my mother lots of hope.  Yesterday she was ready for the fight but today she is ready to be with my dad.  If anything that gives me some peace of mind.  Take care and god bless!

Hello everyone-
Mom passed away on Wednesday Sept 26.  All of her kids were with her at her home when she took her last breath.  She was very tired and weak the last week and still had hope and wanted to fight.  We had scheduled radiation on Tuesday Sept 25 and that Monday is when she started to slur her words and hallunicating.  We knew something was terribly wrong.  We took her to the doctor to run a blood test to see if she was in liver failure and when we got her to the doctor they could not get a blood pressure and they knew she was passing.  They told us that Radiation was not an option and to get her home and comfortable.  Once that was said my Mom's head fell and her body became listless.  She knew and wanted to leave.  Once we got her home and in bed she and I had a long conversation and she was ready to go to my dad.  She lasted 2 more days and passed. I am numb and still feel this is a dream.  she was the most vibrant woman, full of life and then to watch it all sucked from her was hard to see, but she was comfortable and with no pain.  All her kids were with her and she knew it.  WE all made our peace and the love was abundunt.  I will miss my best friend so much and will carry her with me forever.  God bless you all and I pray for each of you everyday.

My deepest sympathies.  I lost my Dad in 2007 and my mom was diagnosed with CC in June.  I feel your pain.