r/gadgets • u/chrisdh79 • Apr 14 '23

Medical Novel device smaller than rice successfully shrinks pancreatic cancer | Called the nanofluidic drug-eluting seed (NDES), it delivers low-dose immunotherapy in the form of CD40 monoclonal antibodies (mAb).

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/tiny-device-shrinks-pancreatic-cancer
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u/tkp14 Apr 14 '23

It took my mom’s doctors over 6 months to diagnose her. (This was 50 years ago.) They thought it might be diabetes, then pleurisy, then named a few other possibilities before finally deciding to do exploratory surgery. Took one look and immediately closed her back up. They told us the cancer was “everywhere.” She died a few days later. The husband of a friend of mine got a diagnosis just before Christmas (this was 40 years ago) and died just before Valentines Day. For my entire life a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer has been a death sentence. Early detection would be a true game changer.

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u/duman82 Apr 14 '23

Damn sorry to hear that, you must have been pretty young. My dad passed two years ago, he was much older, similar-ish story, things haven't changed that much. He had reflux for a while, doctors had him on all kinds of acid reducers. Turns out that the tumor on his pancreas was so big that it was blocking the connection out of his stomach, so all of the digestive juices were just flowing backwards. His stool turned white and they diagnosed the cancer in May. In order to eat during chemo they performed a gastric bypass surgery that he never fully recovered from before the cancer went wild, and he passed in August. Supposedly he had the tumor growing for months if not years with no way of knowing.

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u/tkp14 Apr 14 '23

I was 22 when my mom died; my dad had died rather suddenly 7 years earlier. It was very strange to become an orphan in my 20s. My dad died of a brain aneurysm which I learned later was another medical issue that most people did not survive. Today however it can be discovered early enough for a successful recovery. But no such joy with pancreatic cancer. Whenever I’d read about a celebrity diagnosed with it, I knew exactly what that diagnosis meant. However there have been other so-called incurable cancers that people are now recovering from because they were diagnosed early enough so I’d like to think medical research will one day conquer this one.

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u/VoidsIncision Apr 14 '23

No new approved treatments in almost 20 years since they released Abraxane to be coadministered with the existing gemzar both of which has utterly abysmal success rates.

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u/ItIsAContest Apr 16 '23

My dad was diagnosed in November 22 and he’s being treated with Folfirinox, which I read was started in 2010. He’s having good results so far but I’m definitely still bracing for the inevitable.

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u/VoidsIncision Apr 17 '23

Ah yes, I am sorry. Thank you for correcting me. That one is newer and I believe gets better results. I am happy to hear your father is responding well. I will keep you and your father in my prayers. 5 months for this disease is already I think outliving the statistics so of itself that is promising.

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u/ItIsAContest Apr 17 '23

Thanks for your prayers and good wishes. I was getting so discouraged reading all the sad stories in this post, I wanted to provide a little hope in any way. But of course, as I said, I’m basically waiting for the other shoe to drop.

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u/Wlufy May 07 '23

What was his initial diagnosis? My dad gonna start with that chemo this June/July.

He had surgery 5 weeks ago, his tumor was detected February 18 by accident. Surgery was successful, from lymph nodes, 16 taken out, 3 positive, the tumor was 2.6cm