| GENDER | : | MALE |
| BORN | : | 1947 |
| NATIONALITY | : | NORWEGIAN |
| DIAGNOSIS | : | PANCREATIC CANCER |
INFORMATION AS GIVEN BY THE PATIENT (FEBRUARY 2010)
I must start at the Winter-Spring period of 2008. I was very tired and exhausted after Chrismas and during the spring of 2008, but thought that it was simply “post-winter lethargy” and possibly my age and the fact that I was working double shifts at my job.
In May 2008 I experienced stiffness in the hips and feet but carried on working. In July I had to temporarily stop working but did not get a referral to the rheumatology department at the Levanger Hospital until October 2008, when I was diagnosed as suffering from polymyalgia rheumatica. I was put on a course of Prednisolon that lasted until June 2009.
I started to experience abdominal pain after just a month. I asked my GP if anything could alleviate this and received Somac which did not help. I also asked my rheumatologist, Dr. Krogh at the Levanger Hospital if there was anything he could recommend but he had no suggestions apart from the Somac I was using.
In July 2008 I developed diabetes as a result of my Prednisolon use, and was then given Metaformin and Amaryl for this. At this point I used seven different drugs (Atenolol, Simvastatin, Prednisolon, Calcigran, Somac, Metformin and Amaryl) on a daily basis. In June 2009 I stopped taking Prednisolon, Somac, Calcigran Forte, Metformin and, in October 2009, after discussions with my GP, I discontinued Simvastatin.
I contacted my GP (Walter Paulsen, Tangen Medical Clinic) in April 2009, saying that there must be something else wrong with me as I had reduced my intake of Prednisolon but my stomach was still not right. This led to both an ultrasound and a gastroscopy of my stomach that were both performed in June 2009. The ultrasound investigation revealed a cyst on my pancreas, and the Levanger Hospital sent my journal to the St. Olaf Hospital, since they had greater resources to pinpoint more exactly what this was.
End of July 2009 I had a doctors appointment at St. Olaf’s and was then informed that I had a cancer tumour in my pancreas which measured 5.6 cm in diameter and that they could do nothing for me. They would send the journals to the Rikshospitalet National Hospital for an evaluation prior to operation. After their evaluation they did not recommend an operation since it would not improve my quality of life. So there was nothing that could be done.
I had lost weight, from 84 to 68 kg. During March/April until July 2009 my skin and eyes had turned yellow. This was due to the tumour pressing on the bild ducts and flattening them, leading to the bile being secreted with the urine. In August 2008 I had a stent (plastic tube) fitted to keep the bild duct open.
Through friends of my son I got to hear about Susanne Johansson’s laser treatment that I wanted to try. I received my first treatment in August 2009 and have since received treatments every fortnight. August was a heavy and difficult month. September began a little better and I began to put on weight, my mood improved somewhat, the abdominal pain did not get worse. (Could the ECT treatment be working?).
A new CT-scan was made in September and it showed no change, the tumour had not grown. In October another CT-scan was made and again no major change. (I myself state that on the image I saw that the measurements said 5.4cm). All they could do was to schedule yet another check up in 2.5-3 months.
I have kept on gaining weight (soon just below 70 kg). I feel better and, on the whole, my general condition has improved. I don’t notice any change from day to day, but from week to week I notice an improvement (much better now than in August). I experience less pain now than I did. THE ECT treatment must be working.
In January 2010 a new CT-scan is made. The oncologist Ingunn Hatlevoll at St. Olaf’s Hospital says that something has happened that they cannot fully understand, but that it is to my benefit and that it looks as if I am one of the lucky ones. I think, perhaps, that she knew a little more than she would say. I think I became a little overwhelmed at that point, perhaps thinking more about the ECT treatment than the questions I had planned to ask. I was given one of the pictures to look at, and saw a triangular shape that she called a dark spot. This picture was probably one of many, I just don’t know.
I have heard from other doctors that for this type of cancer the estimated time of survival is six months after diagnosis, so for me it has at least been 7. Susanne’s laser treatment MUST work!
My condition is improving; my weight is just less than 73 Kg. The pain is much, much reduced, many days without pain but some days with tenderness and some pain in my stomach.