A Brief but Major Update

As you probably recall, the CA-19-9 is an important blood test for the measurement of pancreatic cancer. A normal score is below thirty-seven. 

 

On Friday, February 13th, Peggy’s spleen and lower pancreas were removed in the hope that her CA-19-9 level would plummet. When it instead soared by thousands of points per month, we approached despair.

On April 1, a pancreatic malignancy in Peggy’s hip was excised. 

 

Five days after her April 1 surgery, we were horrified to discover that her CA-19-9 level had reached an all-time high of 7,755. 

 

As of today, April 21, her CA-19-9 level has dropped to 3,241. As wonderful as this 4,514 point loss is, a lot more needs to be lost, and we can but hope that it will be. Together with a new drug (daraxonrasib) that is likely to be approved soon for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, Peggy’s hope of longterm survival seems greater than it has been at any time since her diagnosis last May. 

 

I might be jumping with joy were I not too numb to know what I’m feeling. Having been shot down before when I allowed myself to feel optimistic, I’m finding it hard to trust that so deadly an opponent can be defeated.