In July 2005, my mom was diagnosed with cc.  She was 74 years old and actually went to the ER thinking that she was having a gall bladder attack.  She was jaundiced and so they decided to keep her in to run tests.  They performed a c-scan, ultra sound and blood work and decided that she had gall stones.  They could also see what they thought was a gall stone that was in the bile duct.  They scoped her to see if they could unblock the duct and at that time found that it was a tumor.  They biopsied it and then later confirmed that it was cc. They then wanted to go in and remove the tumor and they were planning on doing the "Whipple" and when they got in  they could not do anything but take out the gall bladder that was completely filled with cancer and then close her up.  They said that the cancer was metastasized (?) to the main artery and that nothing could be done.  My mom opted to not go with any radiation or chemo.  They originally gave her 6-12 months to live and she died January 7, 2006 in her sleep. A very short 5 months from her diagnosis.  She really never had any pain (for this we were so grateful!) and basically starved to death.  Her last real meal was December 8th.  She lost close to 100 pounds from her diagnosis to her passing.  This is such a horrible cancer because by the time it is diagnosed, there is not much hope.  I do have to say that she did have all of the side effects that the doctor said she would have and died exactly like the doctor said she would at the very beginning.  We were grateful for this and grateful for the little suffering that she did experience.  I am sure that this site will be a great source for those whose loved ones suffer from this horrible disease.  My heart truly goes out to those who have to watch a loved one suffer from this disease and hope that through this foundation more research will  benefit them before it is too late.