I can see why many say Aretha Franklin is in for the health challenge of her life.

The You Tube videos on Pancreatic Cancer and the Whipple surgery that is performed to try and get rid of the tumors and rid the body of the organs attached to the pancreas is almost too muchto bear.

They remove a portion of the stomach, remove the gall bladder and re-atach your insides. Many foods that one used to eat, are out of the question now.

It seems the operation is 6 to 8 hours and the patient has lots of pain and discomfort.

****

There haven't been any official updates on Miss Franklin since the debials that she was deceased by an errant tweet that confused her with Teena Marie.

There are some very grim stories that have been bandied about form various musical camps, but I do not wish to repeat them without more info - I can only say that if what has been said is true, only for the believers of such - it would take divine intervention.

I sincerely hope that the cancerous tumors were at the very beginning stages, but usually when a subject has symptoms, it means there has been some progression of the wretched disease.

May Aretha beat the odds and weather the ill effects of the surgery and radiation treatment. Lady Soul has been a survivor for so long - may she have that in her just a little bit longer, 'a silly millometer longer' as she said in "You Send Me"

Get better Queen of Soul.

I'm actually interested in how she looks now, considering if this was the type of surgery she had - which is common for pancreatic cancer patients, her weight must've really dropped. She probably looks like she did in the '70s now but not in the way she probably wanted to.

Get well ReeRee!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqwrze_K_aU&feature=related

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually interested in how she looks now, considering if this was the type of surgery she had - which is common for pancreatic cancer patients, her weight must've really dropped. She probably looks like she did in the '70s now but not in the way she probably wanted to.

Get well ReeRee!

She had lost over 50 lbs, and from what I have been told another 30 post surgery.

I feel that if Aretha was up to it, she would have done an interview with Barbara Walters or Oprah or Whoopi or someone. FOX New said it was incurable and terminal...so who knows but Aretha...we can only hope she is in that 4% to 5% of people that surpass the 3 to 6 months after diagnosis.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Gader Ginsburg went back to the bench just 3 weeks after her pancreatic surgery procedure, but she had no symptoms and her cancer level was Stage I.

The lesion in her case was very small and doctors say he has a better than 50% of exceeding the usal dire prognosis because of the early detection.

Aretha's smoking cigs for 37 years (before she quit in '92), her obesity and age all do not bode well.

The prayer vigils say it all...she is in need a miracle

RnBAmbassador said:

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually interested in how she looks now, considering if this was the type of surgery she had - which is common for pancreatic cancer patients, her weight must've really dropped. She probably looks like she did in the '70s now but not in the way she probably wanted to.

Get well ReeRee!

She had lost over 50 lbs, and from what I have been told another 30 post surgery.

I feel that if Aretha was up to it, she would have done an interview with Barbara Walters or Oprah or Whoopi or someone. FOX New said it was incurable and terminal...so who knows but Aretha...we can only hope she is in that 4% to 5% of people that surpass the 3 to 6 months after diagnosis.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Gader Ginsburg went back to the bench just 3 weeks after her pancreatic surgery procedure, but she had no symptoms and her cancer level was Stage I.

The lesion in her case was very small and doctors say he has a better than 50% of exceeding the usal dire prognosis because of the early detection.

Aretha's smoking cigs for 37 years (before she quit in '92), her obesity and age all do not bode well.

The prayer vigils say it all...she is in need a miracle

How huge was she pre-diagnosis? 250 lbs or something like that? If so, she dropped to 170!

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually interested in how she looks now, considering if this was the type of surgery she had - which is common for pancreatic cancer patients, her weight must've really dropped. She probably looks like she did in the '70s now but not in the way she probably wanted to.

Get well ReeRee!

One could tell on October 15, 2010 something was awry with Aretha's looks

http://www.youtube.com/wa...SPA9QOvKDA

then compare how she looked on July 29, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/wa...XV3z9iipfA

[Edited 12/31/10 18:55pm]

RnBAmbassador said:

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually interested in how she looks now, considering if this was the type of surgery she had - which is common for pancreatic cancer patients, her weight must've really dropped. She probably looks like she did in the '70s now but not in the way she probably wanted to.

Get well ReeRee!

One could tell on October 15, 2010 something was awary with Aretha's looks

http://www.youtube.com/wa...SPA9QOvKDA

then compare how she looked on July 29, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/wa...XV3z9iipfA

I could tell from her face. There's that picture that was posted and you could see from the profile that it seemed her face just looked ill.

I didn't know much about the surgery for pancreatic cancer. This is too much to hear

MyLuv229 said:

I didn't know much about the surgery for pancreatic cancer. This is too much to hear

Yeah I'm just starting to read more about this.

To be honest, the fact she even had the surgery is still a good sign that, like Brenda Corbett said, she'll be around for a long time. So I'm not gonna call for the casket just yet. Fuck that.

Timmy84 said:

To be honest, the fact she even had the surgery is still a good sign that, like Brenda Corbett said, she'll be around for a long time. So I'm not gonna call for the casket just yet. Fuck that.

TD3 said:

Timmy84 said:

To be honest, the fact she even had the surgery is still a good sign that, like Brenda Corbett said, she'll be around for a long time. So I'm not gonna call for the casket just yet. Fuck that.

My uncle had this procedure just over a year ago. It's taken a lot out of him, but he sounds like he's doing ok. I hope the same for Aretha.