pain

whipplelife — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:27:26 +0000

A place to share stories of how you have experienced or are experiencing post-operative pain. How did the pain change over time? What helped (or didn’t)?

“Recovering from the cure”

whipplelife — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:16:42 +0000

Following my Whipple procedure I was repeatedly told by various medical personnel that it was the “most extensive surgery we do.” Of course I knew that ahead of time, but the repetition of the fact and the lack of resources available for recovery seemed at odds with one another. If this was such extensive surgery, then why was the recovery and discharge procedure no different from the most routine operations? Where was the “What you can expect” brochure that exists to help patients guide their recovery following any one of a number of common medical procedures.

I had come through the pre-surgical chemotherapy and radiation very well and the immediate physical recovery following the surgery was positive. As various physicians came to examine me I heard, over and over again, “the incision looks great!” and indeed it did. But that was hardly the whole story.

In the weeks after I went home I came to understand that though I was fortunate enough to have received treatment which eradicated my pancreatic cancer, the cure was going to be my biggest physical challenge. I would need to refocus my attention away from having been cured to needing to recover from the process that had saved my life. I realized that the surgery which finally cured me was only the beginning…

whippleLife - recovering from the cure » cure

pain

“Recovering from the cure”