Anyone have their Gallbladder out before PC diagnosis?

IronMommy · New User Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 2 Location: New York

Hello--I was wondering if anyone out there had their symptoms diagnosed as gallbladder trouble, before the doctors figured out it was your pancreas that was the problem. I had my gallbladder out a month ago but still have the same symptoms (pain in upper right that goes through to the back; also pain in the pit of my stomach; both get worse after I eat, especially after eating fatty foods). I'm due to see the gallbladder surgeon about this next week and am starting a round of more tests to figure out the cause. My mother died from pancreatic cancer and my grandmother and great grandmother both died at a young age from unspecified cancers. So, I'm concerned that I might have PC. I'm 45 and otherwise very healthy, no risk factors other than family history.

What sort of doctor should I see? Any advice about this?

Thank you in advance--God bless all of you, and good luck in your fight.

brainman

IronMommy, if I read you message correctly, as of your post you have not been diagnosed as having Pancreatic Cancer, is that right? I am very sorry about all of your health concerns. It is not uncommon for doctors to find other causes for symptoms and try to resolve the issue by taking care of those problems. It does not necessarily mean that a person was misdiagnosed... just that there are multiple problems. To answer your question more directly, yes, there have been many members of this community who were first diagnosed with gallbladder problems before the Pancreatic Cancer was found. Since both cause similar symptoms, this is not so unusual or hard to understand.

Please, continue to work with your medical team to try to identify the cause. If you do not trust your current doctor, you can always ask for a referral. My advice about a second opinion is to always go up she chain of care. That is, if you are at a regional hospital, ask for a referral to a major medical center. If you are at a major medical center, ask for a referral to a research hospital.

You are in my thoughts and prayers.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

IronMommy · New User Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 2 Location: New York

Thanks Jim for your helpful reply and good advice to go "up the chain" of expertise. I'm not mad at my current doctor at all and I don't think he misdiagnosed me--my gallbladder was full of stones and some of my symptoms are different now, so I do think it had to come out. But I think there's something ELSE wrong in addition to the gallbladder and want to make sure it's not PC. I'm definitely going to get a referral for a second opinion/more tests. I really wanted to know if it happens that people have PC but are initially treated for gallbladder issues, because the symptoms are so similar--in other words, do I have a reason to worry?
Thank you!

brainman

Not necessarily reason to worry... just reason enough to continue your search of answers. Yes, there are people who have gallbladder problems and then have Pancreatic Cancer. However, I do not think there is a connection between those diseases.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

cindylou · New User Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 9

Perhaps your doctor can order tumor markers so you can get some quick results, the wait is so hard. Also you should consider getting a PEP scan every couple of years if pancreatic cancer is in your family. I know it costs less than $500 in the states and you can get a quick result. It is probably just your gallbladder so try not to worry.

philip · Regular Joined: 27 Dec 2006 Posts: 11

My mother had her gall bladder removed five years before she was diagnosed with PC. She had pain after meals before her gall bladder was removed. Removing the gall blader solved that problem.

There was difficulty in determining she had PC, for a while it was blamed on a possible broken rib they could not find.

My mother also had a hysterectomy about 4 years before her PC diagnosis. She was 63. A friend also died of lukemia about about 4 years after a hysterectomy. She was 44.

A link, I don't know, but I will always suspect it.

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> Pancreatic Cancer Forum	All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others