THOMAS PETSCHL

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.  I have been diagnosed with type two pancreatic cancer that has not spread.  The detection started on Aug 3rd through AUG 8 with four Emergency Room visits for severe heart burn.  After tests and scans over that time period it was discovered my gallbladder was bad (actually gangrene) and had to be removed. This required 7 incisions rather then the normal 3.
About six weeks later while recovering I noticed my urine was almost brown,  my stool was beige, I had severe itching and a yellow tint to my skin.  After research of past scans it was noticed that there was possibly a mass in the stomach near the pancreas.  An MRI was done to confirm and an ERCP to install a stent in the bile duct for an entrance around the mass for bile.   Four days later I had an EUS to take a biopsy of the mass which was proven to be pancreatic cancer.   I am having a port installed on the 9th of Nov for chemotherapy to be administered through.  On Nov 11th I start high dosage of chemotherapy every other week for 4 to 6 rounds.  This will be done at MN Oncology in Edina.   The idea is to shrink the tumor for removal  and also remove the head of the pancreas called the Whipple procedure.  This will be done at Mayo Clinic.