Faith In Tomorrow

My dad was diagnosed with stage IV metatstatic pancreatic cancer on October 29th 2012, our lives had been changed forever. After diagnosis we went and seen a surgeon that told us his tumor was small and operable. We had a scheduled surgery on November 30th 2012 for them to perform the Whipple surgery.We were all very hopeful by what the doctors had said, however,once they opened him up they found 4 nodules on the back of his stomach so they found the cancer had spread and had closed him back up. We had to take a different approach we met with an oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center and told us we needed to treat this aggressivly but we had to wait for him to heal from the surgery. My dad had had complications healing from the surgery. The wound began to open up in several different places leaving large open wounds that had to be packed twice a day. He has had cellulitis twice, oozing wounds that took longer than expected to heal which set us back on starting his chemotherapy several times. We finally got to start Chemo in January. We did 5 agressive treatments. During those treatments my dad had to be hospitalized 4 different times for dehydration, pain, cellulitis, and finally the tumor had shifted which caused a blockage in his duodenum. We were rushed to the hospital to drain all the fluid that had built up due to the blockage. They had to put a stent there to open that back up so that he could eat, but his diet changed to puree only. At that time we were told that this particulary chemotherapy regimen was not working and we would have to try a new treatment - a clinical trial with a combination of drugs that are not FDA approved yet but they had seen good results. While waiting on approval for this drug dad had two treatments with Gemzar, one of the drugs which did nothing just weaken him more. During that time he kept retaining fluid in his body and has developed ascites and edema. He also got an infection from the fluid called spontaneous bacterial periontinitis. Three weeks ago they told us he had developed blood clots in his lungs and had to put him on two blood thinners and he was hospitalized again. We had his blood checked every couple days after that and then they found his blood was too thin and we were told to stop the blood thinners right away which we did. We went back and his blood checked again it is coming back to normal very slowly. When we went to visit the oncologist we were given some very disheartening news. His oncologist said that we shouldn't proceed with any chemo therapy because it would do more harm than good. My mom and dad have incurred so many medical bills. The cost of his medication is unreal! He is on medicare and is in his "doughnut hole" which means all of his medications are at full price and out of pocket. The appetite enhancer alone was $600 and digestive enzymes were $1200 and that is what helps food digest. He is on pain medication, diuretics, anti-nausea medicine, and supplements. My parents have incurred so much out of pocket expense that they can not afford to pay for pay medical expenses and living expenses. My mother is taking a leave of absence at this time to take care of him and she is the main source of household income. At this point we are seeking alternative treatments more of a holistic integrative approach. We are planning to take him to the Block Center in Chicago on June 11th and see what they can do for him. The cost of everything is out of control we are all trying to help as much as we can but it doesn't seem to be enough. I am asking for donations to help my Mom and Dad with the cost of further treatment which could help get the cancer under control. This would also give my mother the opportunity to stay at home and care for my dad.