Guest guest Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Hi, I just joined this group because my husband has been tentatively diagnosed with auto-immune sarcoidosis, and I am looking for answers. Last year, on Memorial Day, he was admitted to the hospital with jaundice. After running several tests, they decided he had pancreatic cancer and started him on chemo. After several more CT scans and a second opinion, they decided the biopsies were negative. So exploratory surgery was scheduled for 4/16. The Dr. removed the gall bladder and biopsied some lymph nodes, but didn't " touch " the pancreas, as it was inflamed and hard. That's when they gave the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. We are totally clueless. Can anyone help steer us in the right direction for info? Karin in SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 I have 2 questions that I am trying to find answers for. 1) What effect, if any, did the five rounds of chemo have on the pancreas (if it is really sarcoidosis)? 2) Will a treatment of heavy steroids harm the pancreas more than it could help? Karin in SD > > Hi, I just joined this group because my husband has been tentatively > diagnosed with auto-immune sarcoidosis, and I am looking for answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Karin, It's impossible for any of us to say whether your husband was harmed by the chemo. and if that is why he has pancreatis now. I'd suggest you go to your local pharmacist, and sit down with him. High dose prednisone is so hard-- if he's already got problems with the pancrease, then my thought would be that he'll really be fighting the blood sugar issues even more. Pred is great for getting that inflammation down quickly. Many of us can't take it any longer because of the side effects-- depression, anxiety, unable to sleep, diabetes, body pain, adrenal issues, etc. There are several other choices in immunosupressants. Plaquenil, Methotrexate, Imuran, Arava- all come to mind. I send people to www.arthritis.org to read the annual drug issue. It breaks the meds down into groups, --anti-inflammatories, DMARDS (disease modifying antirheumatic drugs) BRM's- (biological response modifiers) and pain meds. For most of us, it has been a combination-- and we had to start one med at a time, then add on until we've gotten the right combination for us. Truly, ask these questions of the pharmacist-- one that didn't dispense them-- and see what his take is. (Then share, we'd like to know the answer also!) Blessings, Tracie NS Co-owner/moderator************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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