Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating cancers to have. There is new hope as you will learn in the video, but doctors even then have limited options.

Your pancreas is an organ that is responsible for secretion of enzymes which help you digest your foods. It also is the role player in producing insulin from cells called the Islets of Langerhans. For an in depth look at diabetes, see my diabetes site.

To understand the pancreas, it is divided into four sections.

The Head This portion is next to the duodenum.

Uncinate process This is where the head extends.

Body This is the center part of your pancreas.

Tail This is the part on the left that is next to your spleen.

The most popular type of pancreatic cancer is called adenocarcinoma. This is a very aggressive type of cancer that is usually silent. By the time it makes itself known, it is very advanced.

What causes this cancer?

Basically, this cancer is brought on by the following:

Smoking can bring it on since the chemicals in cigarettes irritate the pancreas.

Aging

Males seem to be favored more then females when coming down with this cancer.

Pancreatitis is likely to stir up cancer since there is chronic irritation of the pancreas with this medical problem

Family History can play a role if others have had this cancer or liver cancers.



Symptomatology of Pancreatic Cancer

The most prominent symptoms are the ones here:

Abdominal pain

Unexplained weight loss

No appetite

Bloating a lot

Diarrhea or bowel movements that are fatty and float

Jaundice appearance of the skin

These symptoms may not always be clear and may mean other conditions and not cancer. You need to seek medical advice quickly however if you have jaundice.

Diagnosis

The doctor may first feel around your stomach area and see if there is a mass that he or she can feel there. Even if they don't feel one, an imaging test should be done.

An abdominal ultrasound is the most important test to do if a person is jaundiced with abdominal pain. If they see a tumor there, then the next step is a CT scan.

A CT Scan is often used to confirm a tumor seen in the pancreas for sure, since an ultrasound may or may not miss the tumor. The CT scan is able to locate smaller tumors in fact, better. It can also show doctors if this tumor is spreading into other areas or not. If a tumor is seen, the next step is a biopsy.

There are two different kinds of biopsy that can be done. They are:

Endoscopic biopsy which is done by a stomach doctor, (gastroenterologist). A tube with a camera on the end is put in through your mouth and goes into the stomach area. They can do a needle biopsy with an ultrasound attached to the tip of the endoscope.

Percutaneous biopsy This is a biopsy done by a needle that goes through the skin into the body. The radiologist will do this test as they use the ultrasound or a CT scanner. The needle is carefully guided into the tumor site. This is painless.

What if it is pancreatic cancer?

If a tumor is no doubt confirmed as cancer, the surgeon may choose to remove the tumor.

Blood testing is done to see what your CA 19-9 is. This is an ingredient that is put out in the body when there is cancer present in the pancreas. This is also a useful tool to see if the treatments they are using to kill the growing tumor is working or not. There are about 3 types of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. It can be:

Localized in which the cancer is into the pancreas only. They can remove the pancreas surgically and treat with chemotherapy if this is the case, hoping to clear it up.

Advanced locally This means that cancer has gone beyond the pancreas area into blood vessels or maybe other organs.

Metastatic This is more serious as this cancer has spread into other body areas.

Treatments

Chemotherapy with or without radiation may be done. When done together, it is called adjuvant therapy.

This therapy may work for awhile, but this type of cancer is highly likely to recur again.

The video above gives more information on treatments that can be done which can extend life beyond the normal expectancy with this cancer. The Whipple procedure is talked about as a successful treatment for extending the remission of the cancer.

Noni Fights CancerNoni juice contains cancer fighting nutrients. It kills cancer cells (the anthraquinone damnacanthal and the trace element selenium), it stops the spread of cancer (beta sitosterol, noni-ppt and limonene), it stimulates the white blood cells and other parts of the immunity system (polysaccharides) and takes part in a process that enlarges cell membranes so they can better absorb nutrients (proxeronine aids in creating xeronine). And this is only a partial list!

Do you have a great story about pancreatic cancer? Share it!

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Pancreatic Cancer Surgery: Now Easy to Get it in India at Low Cost  Not rated yet
Author: Dr Arjun Bojwani Many international patients are put off by the high prices in Europe and the US and are traveling to India to get the same ...

Pancreatic Cancer Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prognosis   Not rated yet
by rhysbern Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas, a large organ that lies horizontally behind the lower part of the stomach. Pancreatic ...

Father Died of Pancreatic Cancer  Not rated yet
My Dad was diagonsed with Pancreatic cancer on june 2005 and was immediately subjected to an operation.It was diagonsed at the third last stage.However ...

Pancreatic Cancer May Be Available for Early Detection  Not rated yet


Pancreatic Cancer May Be Available For Early Detection





Pancreatic Cancer May Be Available For Early Detection by Peter Kent A ...