Janette Pikula

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place.  Janette was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer March 14, 2017. 

It all started Super Bowl weekend, my parents came down to Savage to come to our party. I knew right away something was not right with her and throughout the weekend her symptoms of fatigue an confusion worsened. That Monday, we decided to bring her to the Burnsville hospital where they were going down the path of a stroke. No stroke. They kept her for observation and treated her for dehydration and was released on Tuesday. On that Friday, dad called 911 as she was experiencing more confusion and ended up back in the hospital up in Brainerd. Doctors diagnosed her with a UTI and back home she went. Then on Feb 22 (happy birthday Marnie) back in the hospital again due to severe confusion. This time her blood work indicated she had very high levels of ammonia and was prescribed lactulose. She also had an MRI, CT scan and ultra sound done and this is where they found as mass on her pancreas.  

Here is where our journey began. On March 20, we traveled to Abbott and met with a surgeon who gave us devastating news that mom was not a candidate for surgery and that chemo was the only option to prolong her life. The tears started flowing and they continued to flow until we met with a team of doctors at Mayo for a second opinion. This is where we experienced our first miracle. The oncologist believed that she may be a candidate for surgery. In order for her to be a candidate, there are a few hurdles that need to be jumped. The tumor needs to shrink and she has some blood clots in the portal vein that the cancer is wrapped around that need to go away. Her blood thinner was replaced with an injection 2 times a day in her stomach and she will start a very aggressive chemo in the next couple of weeks. She will have 1 round of chemo every 12 days where she will be in the hospital for 5 hours then home for 2 days with a pump. She will have total of 4 rounds.

We appreciate your support, prayers of hope and encouragement as we move through this journey of helping her fight this cancer.