There are two types of anticancer drugs used before surgery for pancreatic cancer: Abraxane + Gemcitabine, which is administered by IV, and Forfirinox, which is administered after surgery by implanting a port in the chest. Dr. I chose Abraxane + Gemcitabine because it does not require implant surgery and treatment can begin sooner. Both anticancer drugs are strong drugs, so there is a high possibility of side effects. Abraxane + Gemcitabine can cause fever, loss of appetite, nausea, numbness in the hands and feet, hair loss, and white blood cell reduction. When I looked it up online, I heard stories of people who felt sick from the anticancer drugs and had to stay in bed, or who could not eat, and I also heard many stories of people who could not continue anticancer drug treatment because the side effects were so severe, so to be honest, I started anticancer drug treatment with a lot of anxiety. The side effect that particularly affects QOL is numbness in the hands and feet. It seems that the pain in the feet can make it difficult to walk, and the pain in the hands can make it difficult to type on the computer. However, I had heard that some people experience almost no side effects, so I was praying that I would not experience any. After I was discharged from the hospital in late December, I resumed work as usual, though teleworking from home, and I was scheduled to be quite busy in January, so I started anticancer drug with some anxiety. I had heard from information online that mindset and meditation can also be effective in preventing side effects from chemotherapy, so during the first infusion, I meditated and kept telling myself that the anticancer drug would only work on the cancer and would not cause any strange side effects to my body. During the infusion, I began to feel pain in the veins where the needle was inserted. I endured it since it wasn’t a very strong pain but that was a mistake. By the time the infusion finished, my veins were swollen and I had to apply a fairly strong ointment. I was told that if it looked like it was going to hurt, the pain in the veins could be reduced by warming the arm while receiving the infusion, so from the next time I had my arm warmed while receiving the infusion, and after that I never experienced any pain in the veins due to the infusion.
I heard that muscle training is not only effective in strengthening immunity against cancer, but also helps to prevent the side effects of anticancer drugs, so I continued to train every day. Fortunately, perhaps due to the effects of meditation and training, I hardly experienced any side effects such as feeling sick or numbness in my hands and feet. Although I started losing my hair after two weeks, I was able to live my daily life and work as usual without any major problems. My appetite decreases a little on the day and the day after I receive anticancer drugs, but if I move my body properly and sweat, I feel refreshed and my health returns, so I tried to continue training without taking a break the day after I receive anti-cancer drugs, and spent my days trying to sweat as much as possible.
A friend who is a cancer survivor advised me to gain weight before surgery because surgery will cause a dramatic weight loss, and Dr. I also said that it is good to gain weight to a certain extent, so I ate what I wanted during this period and gained about 7 kg in two months, but I was fortunate that I did not experience loss of appetite due to the side effects of anti-cancer drugs.
The Abraxane and Gemcitabine infusion treatment involves a two-hour infusion once a week for three weeks followed by a one-week break, which is one course. We plan to do two courses of this as preoperative treatment, but before each infusion, I will have a blood test to check whether I can undergo infusion treatment and then decide on the content of the infusion treatment. One side effect of the anticancer drugs is a decrease in white blood cells, and if they fall below a certain level, there is a risk of infection, so in that case the amount of anticancer drugs must be reduced or treatment must be suspended, but fortunately in my case, even at the lowest point of my white blood cell count, it was just barely possible to administer a normal amount of infusion, so I was able to complete both courses with the normal amount of anticancer drugs infusion. In early February, I had a CT scan to check again whether surgery was possible. Perhaps due to the effect of the anticancer drugs, the pancreatic cancer had shrunk somewhat, and the shadow of the liver was no longer visible, so it was decided that surgery was possible. I started the two-month chemotherapy with some anxiety, but fortunately, I didn’t experience any severe side effects that would affect my daily life, and it was effective against the cancer, so I was relieved.
However, in the case of pancreatic cancer, anticancer drugs must be continued for about six months after surgery, so this was not the end of anticancer drugs. I had heard that the anticancer drugs would be changed to oral medication after the surgery, so I asked Dr. I if Dr. I, as an internist, would continue to treat me with anticancer drug after the surgery, and he replied that the surgeon would treat me with aticancer drug after the surgery. He told me that I will meet internist in cases where the results were not good. I told him that it’s better for me not to see him again, and finished my final diagnosis before the surgery with Dr. I.
Dr. I was a really trustworthy person, and for nearly two months he was happy about my improvement as if it were his own problem, and I was really glad to have met this doctor, so although it was sad that I would never see him again, I thought that this would be the last time. I never expected that six months later I would be seeing him almost every week again.