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Pancreatic Cancer: A Silent Killer

lginger — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:17:57 +0000

Pancreatic cancer is considered to be among the most serious cancers known in modern medicine. It is the third most progressive cancer that is resistant to treatment and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths.

The pancreas is a large organ, around 6 inches long, in the shape of a thin pear lying on its side. It is a well-hidden gland lying in front of the spine just behind the stomach, liver, the small intestines, spleen, the gall bladder, and bile ducts. The pancreas is basically responsible for the production of digestive juices used by the body to break down food, as well as the production of hormones like insulin and glucagons used by the body to control the blood sugar level.

Pancreatic cancer occurs when malignant tumors form in the tissues of the pancreas.

Risk Factors

As researchers have discovered, risk factors for pancreatic cancer includes smoking, dietary factors, diabetes mellitus, and chronic pancreatitis among others, which may be hereditary in nature.

Smokers are found to have 2-fold increased risk at the minimum of contracting pancreatic cancer.

Dietary factors also take its toll in triggering pancreatic carcinoma. Excessive alcohol intake associated with the condition of chronic pancreatitis may aggravate to pancreatic cancer. However, coffee consumption, contrary to early reports, is not a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. It has also been reported that people with diets that are rich in fresh vegetables and fruits are less prone to this kind of cancer, while there is more incidence of pancreatic cancer in people with greater energy consumption.

Patients of diabetes mellitus are also found to have a 2-fold increased risk in contracting pancreatic carcinoma.

Mortality

The disturbing fact about pancreatic cancer is that it is very hard to diagnose. Early detection is also very difficult as the symptoms of the disease often manifest themselves only when the cancer is already in its advanced stages. And by this time, the patients may already have other incurable diseases.

In the United States, there was an estimated 30,300 deaths in the year 2002 attributed to pancreatic carcinoma. The survival time associated with this kind of cancer is generally short which most often is only less than a year. And the overall 5-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is a meager 5%.

Signs and Symptoms

Known early-warning signs of pancreatic cancer include severe abdominal pain, weight loss, jaundice, to name a few.

Pain is the most common complaint among patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Severe pain is usually experienced in the upper abdominal area that may radiate to the back.

Another characteristic feature of this kind of cancer is significant weight loss.

The various signs of jaundice are yellowish color of the white of the eyes, yellowing and itching of the skin, and dark urine color. Jaundice is also often present in liver or bile duct conditions.

Onset of nonspecific symptoms like malaise, fatigue, anorexia, nausea and back or midepigastric pain may also be present.

The Remedy

Pancreatic cancer, unless detected early, can no longer be controlled when it has already spread. Often, removal of the pancreas through surgery is the only option. But if the cancer has already spread, palliative treatment may be served to at least alleviate the pain and improve the patient’s quality of life through controlling the disease’s symptoms and other complications.

Treating Pancreatic Cancer

lginger — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 20:39:18 +0000

Cancer of the pancreas, depending on what stage it already is and the age of a patient, can still be treated. A doctor will probably suggest three things, namely, surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Surgery is done to take out the tumor. Depending on what part is infected, a doctor might do a Whipple procedure (head of the pancreas), distal pancreatectomy (tail of the pancreas) and total pancreatectomy (whole pancreas).

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays, which can come from a machine, to kill cancer cells and prevent it from spreading to other organs in your body.

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. It can be taken orally or injected direct to a patient’s bloodstream. Chemotherapy can also kill cancer cells aside from cancer cells from the pancreas. Chemotherapy is frequently done in conjunction with radiation therapy.

Cancer of the pancreas is one of the deadliest cancers mainly because it can spread into different organs without a patient even knowing it. The best way to prevent this is to eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle and to not ignore possible symptoms that might go worse if not taken care of immediately.

Learn the truth about cancer and how to eliminate it.

What is Pancreatic Cancer?

lginger — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 21:45:19 +0000

The pancreas is an organ that lies behind the stomach and enveloped in a loop formed by the small intestine. It has two functions for the body. One is that it secretes enzymes that are needed to break down food and the other is that it produces hormones that help in the regulation of carbohydrates from the food stores.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest and most serious of cancers. Even though it accounts for just 2% of cancer cases in the US, it is already fourth in cancer deaths. The reason is that it is hard to diagnose it because the pancreas is hidden behind other organs in your stomach.

Another reason is that cancer of the pancreas does not give symptoms until it is already in the advanced stage. Symptoms, if they appear, are pain in your upper abdominals, jaundice (yellowing of one’s skins and eyes), nausea, loss of appetite, significant weight loss due to digestive problems and depression.

When these symptoms appear, a patient must go straight to the hospital to be examined by a doctor. The doctor might do some tests (such as x-ray, CT scan, MRI and ultrasound) and he might even need to do some surgery to be sure.

Once a doctor has done surgery and found out that the patient has cancer of the pancreas, he will try to diagnose how much has the disease spread and classify it into different stages.

Stage I Cancer is when the cancer cells is found just on the pancreas itself or is just starting to spread to other organs in a patient’s stomach.

Stage II Cancer is when the cancer cells have already infected other organs near the pancreas (such as spleen and colon) but has not yet reached the nearest lymph nodes.

Stage II Cancer is when the cancer cells have reached the lymph nodes, the ones responsible for producing and storing infection-fighting cells.

Stage IV Cancer is when the cancer cells have spread out to a patient’s liver or even his lungs.

Recurrent Stage is when the cancer cells have come back after it was already treated.

Facts About Pancreatic Cancer

lginger — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 02:52:03 +0000

Pancreatic cancer is ranked as the United States’ fourth most death causing cancer disease. Is is estimated that this year alone, around 32,000 will be victim and succumb from this killer disease. It is a common type of cancer and unfortunately, one of the hardest to treat. Because of the hard problems that pancreatic cancer pose to the medical world, it has been dubbed as the twenty first century’s great challenge. Before moving on, it is important to know what the pancreas is and the functions that it performs. Following below is the definition of the pancreas and its functions as well as problems faced when pancreatic cancer is diagnosed.

The pancreas

The pancreas is an organ that is found in the middle of the stomach and the backbone or spine. It is surrounded by other organs like the intestine, liver, and lungs among others. Its length measures to about six inches and its shape is comparable to that of a pear. Its head is the widest part followed by the body and then the tail which is the thinnest. Its main purpose is to produce insulin as well as hormones. The hormones travel inside the body via the bloodstream. These hormones aid in both the use and storage of energy that is obtained from food. Pancreatic juices are made by this organ contain enzymes used in the digestion of food.

Who may be at risk?

Medical experts do not know the exact reason behind pancreatic cancer. But just like other types of cancer, pancreatic cancer is also not contagious meaning it cannot be transferred from one person to another. The following risk factors are linked to the development of pancreatic cancer. The first risk factor is age. People that are over 60 years old have a higher chance of having this type of cancer. Smoking two to three sticks of cigarette will greatly increase the chance of getting this disease. Diabetes is also a risk factor since people with this condition are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than those that do not.

Symptoms of the disease

Individuals that have pancreatic cancer do not readily know that they have it since it is hard to diagnose. It is referred to as the silent killer because symptoms do not show until it has already developed into the advanced stage. As it develops, the patient may experience the following symptoms: weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, jaundice, yellow skin, upper back pain. and vomiting. Again, it is important to take note that these symptoms can be also attributed to other health disorders. Thus, it is best to consult an oncologist (cancer specialist) to ascertain if you might have pancreatic cancer.

Ways of treating pancreatic cancer

There are several ways to treat pancreatic cancer. With respect to its stage as well as type, treatment may be in the form of surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy. A combination of these treatments may be applied on some patients. The removal of the cancerous part of the pancreas is the only way to have a chance in curing this disease. With the advent of technology today, a lot has been improved in the field of surgery. Removal through surgery will depend on the tumor’s size and location as well as the patient’s health and the stage the disease is currently in. When the tumor cannot be removed in its entirety, the patient will rely on chemotherapy to treat the disease.

These are some of the things to know about pancreatic cancer. If you want to be certain whether you might have or not, it is better to ask a specialist for proper checkup and advice.