Sheila Jackson-Lee dies

[AirVol]

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is dead at 74

The Houston Democrat announced earlier this year that she had cancer.

www.texastribune.org

RIP

 

[McDad]

That's what took my dad. Horrible.

Condolences to her family.

 

[rekinhavoc]

Eff cancer.

 

[GAVol]

That's what took my dad. Horrible.

Condolences to her family.

Same for my Dad. Diagnosed and gone in one month.

Bless her and her family.

 

[kiddiedoc]

3 of my good friends have lost their fathers to PC. Just a really tough diagnosis.

RIP

 

[InVOLuntary]

3 of my good friends have lost their fathers to PC. Just a really tough diagnosis.

RIP

Do they not have any means for early detection? It seems like everything is fine and then they have some symptom and find out the have it. Then they're dead in a few weeks or months.

 

[volbeast33]

Same for my Dad. Diagnosed and gone in one month.

Bless her and her family.

same for my grandmother

 

[OHvol40]

Do they not have any means for early detection? It seems like everything is fine and then they have some symptom and find out the have it. Then they're dead in a few weeks or months.

Most people are asymptomatic until the cancer is in late stages, and even if it is caught early the options for intervention are harsh. Best thing to do if you have a family history is to try and get genetic testing done and stay vigilant with regular diagnostic testing.

 

[InVOLuntary]

Most people are asymptomatic until the cancer is in late stages, and even if it is caught early the options for intervention are harsh. Best thing to do if you have a family history is to try and get genetic testing done and stay vigilant with regular diagnostic testing.

Thanks for that. After I posted, apparently it's not extremely genetic. I think I read 10% or less? Evidently they're is a blood test available now? I think I'll add it to my annual physical if it's appropriate.

My daughter's supervisor's mother had it. Lasted a year. Right before she died, like a week, her husband was diagnosed with it as well. He died quickly, like a few days after her mother. Thus happened in the last couple of weeks. I can't imagine.

 

[LadyVolette]

Pancreatic cancer is one the most aggressive and painful types of cancer to have.. prayers for her and her family

 

[OHvol40]

Thanks for that. After I posted, apparently it's not extremely genetic. I think I read 10% or less? Evidently they're is a blood test available now? I think I'll add it to my annual physical if it's appropriate.

My daughter's supervisor's mother had it. Lasted a year. Right before she died, like a week, her husband was diagnosed with it as well. He died quickly, like a few days after her mother. Thus happened in the last couple of weeks. I can't imagine.

The type of testing needed would have to go through a geneticist, and unless there’s clearly a close family history, it’s my understanding that insurance usually won’t cover it. If memory serves me right, they are looking for certain BRCA gene mutations, as well as some other specific genes.

It’s usually a really tough cancer to watch someone go through, typically a lot of pain and misery. Personally, I lost my father-in-law and an aunt to it. I used to scrub in on whipple surgeries when the procedure was fairly new. A large percentage of the time the patient was opened up, the cancer had spread further than thought on scans, or it had intervened with vital blood supply or crept up into the liver, bile ducts, etc… and the patient was subsequently closed up without any interventions. It is really still a very tough cancer to deal with.