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Okay, as someone who has a first degree relative who is an oncologist, here are my thoughts/concerns.
First, the posting about Steve Jobs is correct. He did have a rare type, that was (by all accounts) successfully treated. However, his treatment was surgery... which is the unfortunate key difference here.
Since all cancers are different, I am only going to make a comment about pancreas cancer- please do NOT read the following statement into ANY other type of cancer: The fact that he is having to go to chemo is a concerning sign.
Those small percentages that have the better outcomes in pancreas cancer are ones that for whatever reason had their disease caught early enough to have it cut out. In other words- it did not spread, was very confined, and could be removed surgically.
A very sad fact about pancreas cancer is that survival is not measured in years, or months. It is measure in weeks. Yes, weeks.
It is possible that the first reports that indicated "5 weeks to live" may have been an assumption, or an average of all diagnoses of pancreas cancers. It may also be possible that when his doctor says that "we are more optimistic" than the reports that he was simply referring to more than 5 weeks. Hard to say.
I do wish Mr. Swayze the best and hope that he proves all accounts wrong. I do not come on here to presume to know his exact condition or prognosis. I only want to share some facts that may clarify the different situations that led to more positive outcomes.
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