|
|---|
PANCREATIC CANCER
|
|
|---|
PANCREATIC CANCER
The pancreas is a digestive organ located in the upper abdomen, it is necessary for both maintaining proper blood sugar and proper digestion of food. When the pancreas develops cancer, it is critical to get the proper treatment to have the best chance for survival. Once pancreas cancer was considered uniformly fatal, but recent research offers new hope for cure and comfort for those stricken.
It is important to be knowledgable to make the right choices for the pancreas cancer patient. Making the right choice can literally mean the difference between life and death. You deserve the peace-of-mind knowing that you have done everything possible to help fight pancreas cancer successfully.
What Causes or Increases the Risk for Pancreas Cancer?
No one knows why any particular person gets pancreas cancer and another does not. However, certain things have been shown to increase the risk of getting it:
1. Cigarette smoking is a factor in over 1/2 of deaths from pancreas cancer. The risk gradually returns to normal after quitting smoking for 5 years.
2.Alcoholism can cause pancreatitis ( inflammation) which is strongly connected to pancreas cancer.
3.Chronic Inflammation of the pancreas from any source, including a blocked pancreatic duct, hereditary pancreatitis, or viruses increase cancer risk.
4. Carcinogens are chemicals that increase cancer risk. Workers in coke plants or those exposure to naptha or benzene get more pancreas cancer. The DDT pesticide is linked to a 7 times increase in pancreas cancer risk.
5. Diet is linked to many gastrointestinal cancers. High fat, low fiber diets may increase risk of pancreas cancer. Caffeine has not been proven to increase risk.
6.Diabetes is weakly linked to pancreas cancer, but pancreas cancer can also cause diabetes.
7. Surgery which has removed part or all of the stomach ("gastrectomy") raises the risk of pancreas cancer by 5 times over the following 20 years.
** Pancreas Cancer is not normally hereditary and is not contagious .
As you can see, something that most of the above "risk factors" have in common is that they stimulate the growth of pancreas cells through irritation or injury. The more often cells divide, the higher the chance that a mistake will occur in their genetic code (a "gene mutation") leading to a "transformed" cell which is cancerous.
Can Pancreas Cancer Be Prevented?
While pancreas cancer cannot be entirely prevented, the risk to get it may be lowered by avoiding cigarettes, using alcohol only in moderation, and lowering dietary fat. There is some evidence that vitamins "A" and"E", found in fresh vegetables and fruits, lowers the risk for all "gastro-intestinal" cancers. Interestingly, getting one's tonsils removed ("tonsillectomy") appears protective against pancreas cancer.
What are the Symptoms of Pancreas Cancer?
The symptoms of pancreas cancer depend upon where the pancreas it starts. In the tail of the pancreas, the tumor can grow very large with no symptoms at all until it spreads. In the "head" of the pancreas, closer to the small intestine, it is usual to see
some jaundice (below) as the cancer closes off bile ducts. The most common symptoms for cancer in the head or body include:
1. Weight loss and decreased appetitein 3/4 of patients.
2. Abdominal pain in 2/3 of patients. This pain is gnawing, and may be relieved by leaning forward. In general, it radiates to the patient's back.
3. Jaundice means a yellowing of the whites of the eyes, then the skin, caused by backup of bile into the bloodstream. The gall bladder and the pancreas empty into the same area of the small intestine, so a pancreas tumor can block-up the bile drainage and force it to backwash into the blood. The yellow-green bile causes the yellowing of the patient, in 1/2 of these cancer patients.
4. Bleeding into the intestines is seen in about 1/3 of patients. This may be seen as thick, tarry stools (also see below), since blood released into the upper intestine will appear black ("melena") by the time it passes through the anus.
5. Itching ("pruritis") especially in the palms and soles shows advanced cancer. The pruritis usually goes along with jaundice, from buildup of blood "bilirubin".
6.Diabetes is caused by loss of the pancreas' ability to secrete insulin.
7. Loose, smelly stools ("steatorrhea") is caused by loss of the pancreas' ability to excrete the enzymes (amylase and lipase) necessary for proper digestion.
8.Liver Symptoms (right upper abdomen pain) from liver spread and swelling it.
9.Hoarsenes s is found in one-quarter of patients.
10. Paraneoplastic syndromes means unusual conditions caused by the cancer releasing (or causing to be released) chemicals. For instance, skin color may start darkening, fat in the body decomposing or shifting location, blood clots may form, new hair may develop, are arthritis may set in - all due to cancer.
11. Depression, unexplained for other reasons, may herald pancreas cancer. It is critical for a psychiatrist to realize that new onset depression, especially in the older patient, may presage cancer.
Any of the above symptoms are much more likely to represent a benign condition than pancreas cancer. Nevertheless, they should not be ignored but brought to medical attention - if it is cancer, then early detection is crucial .
The Cancer Group Institute's materials explain, in plain English, the definition, frequency, risk factors, symptoms, evaluation, historic treatment and latest effective treatment and results. We describe surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. We tell you everything you need to know to help make the right choices today in dealing with a pancreas cancer problem.
