Does anyone know about pancreatic cancer?

My mom just had surgery yesterday to fix a bowel obstruction. The Dr said there was a tumour on the pancreas that was attached. He couldn't remove it, so he did a bypass around it. He didn't come out & say it was cancer, but hinted that at her age (83) they wouldn't do chemo, because she is quite frail.
We live quite far away and talking to the Dr is difficult. I know this kind of cancer is terminal, but how much time does someone usually last?
I should also add, that she has been having stomach problems for afew months already.
Thank-you

It's very difficult to give an accurate answer to that question with the information provided. I would really need a biopsy to be done and to get the pathologist's report to say much about it, but if treatment isn't an option, that would not be indicated. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma can be very aggressive and can have a prognosis of only months after diagnosis, however, there are other tumors that can be found in the pancreas that can be much less aggressive, and some are benign (apart from local effects, like possible obstruction of the pancreatic ducts). The best one to give you any idea what's going in is the surgeon who actually saw it, and even he would be guessing.
Sorry, I know this isn't terribly helpful, but I think it's better to have no information than misinformation.

I do not remember how long it took, but my grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer 5 years ago. If you like, you can email me and I will get much more specific information from my mom for you. My email is on my profile page.

The one thing that really made a difference to me was a book I read. It is "The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book About Living" By Ira Byock, MD

Ira Byock is a palliative care doctor from Dartmouth. His books are amazing.

You mother is in my thoughts.

Pancreatic is one of the most deadly cancers and death can ensue anytime from a few months to a few years ....Young people now have surgery for it so the suvival rates are improving but I wouldnt put a 83 yr old through all that because it doesnt add quality of life. Good for the Dr for declining aggressive treatment. I know many old people who are put through tortuous treatments by medical corps to make money even though they know it will only prolong life ( not quality of life) for a very few months.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma has a poor prognosis, I agree with the physician's decision not to pursue aggressive treatment given her situation. Important considerations include the presence/absence of metastasis but, to be frank, without a crystal ball it's impossible to predict a definite life expectancy.

I used to take disability claims in the Social Security office. The clients who came in with this type of cancer died the fastest of any of my other clients. I apologize. I just wanted to be honest. It was usually a 6 week time frame from diagnosis til death.