Liz Henderson Krewe de L-I-Z!

Approximately one month ago, Liz started having some stomach distress and went to an urgent care facility for help. She was very fortunate to have encountered a dedicated doctor who followed his instincts and ordered more blood work for her. He ran several tests and concluded that she was jaundiced and most likely had pancreatic cancer. They were able to get Liz into see oncologist, Rhonda Gentry, with Carti early the next week. They were able to open up her duct that was blocked by the mass and eliminate her jaundice. After CAT scans, MRI’s and other testing she was referred to a doctor in Dallas, TX to do a procedure called Endoscopic Ultrasound. This procedure allows a biopsy and scan of the mass without cutting into the mass which could potentially cause the cancer to spread. Jerry and Liz traveled to Dallas and had the Endoscopic Ultrasound on November 30th.  Unfortunately, there was not enough sample taken so the lab results were inconclusive. On December 7th, Jerry and Liz traveled back to Dallas to have another Endoscopic Ultrasound done.The results from the second Endoscopic Ultrasound showed the mass on the Pancreas to be a 3.5 cm adenocarcinoma cancer.  During their first visit to Dallas they meet with an oncology surgeon, Rohan Jeyarajah, who specializes in Pancreatic Cancer. Liz and Jerry really like this doctor and felt he would be the best choice to do a very intensive surgery called the Whipple. Dr. Jeyarajah said he was unable to do the Whipple at this time because he wants the mass to stabilize and possibly shrink. This will be done with the help of Chemotherapy. Liz received her port last week and started Chemotherapy today, December 16that 8:30. The chemo will be a very “heavy duty chemo”. She will have chemo infusions every 2-3 weeks then another CAT scan and then return to see Dr.Jeyarajah on February 15, 2016.We felt Caringbridge is the best way for Liz’s family and friends to follow and support her, Jerry, Eric, Mai, Rosie and Brian on this journey.