My dad had pancreatic islet-cell cancer. After a local surgeon determined that the tumor was inoperable, a heroic team at the Mayo took it out. Several years later he developed cancer in his liver, which is now largely nonfunctional.
He just turned eighty, so I don't think a transplant was ever under consideration, but I wonder how he'd be if, say, five years ago I could have given him part of mine. I doubt he would have accepted it either.
I'm happy to say that he was recently kicked out of hospice for being too healthy, but the chances of him making it to eighty-one are very slim.
