Understanding Pancreatic Cancer

Cancer of the pancreas is a malignant tumor within the pancreas. Approximately 95 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer have a poor prognosis in that the patient is rarely alive 5 years after being diagnosed with the disease.

The disease is difficult to diagnose early on because the symptoms are generally non-specific. Some of the common complaints are loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort, weight loss and jaundice, (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes). Since these complaints are common, they may be attributed to other causes, which results in the disease not being diagnosed early on. The final diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is usually discovered when every other cause is ruled out. The most common cause of jaundice is related to the gall bladder. Pancreatic cancer is not the obvious answer to the symptom of jaundice.

Pressure of the tumor within the pancreas obstructs the common bile duct, which causes the jaundice. A bile duct is one of many tubular structures that carry bile. The digestion of food is carried out when the liver excretes bile into a series of bile ducts, which eventually form the common bile duct, which opens into the large intestine. Bile emulsifies fats and aids in the digestion of food in the intestine.

Some predisposing factors for pancreatic cancer include: The age of the patient, habits such as smoking, and poor diet, obesity, diabetes, occupational hazards, such as exposure to petroleum and pesticides and dyes. Poor oral care is another predisposing factor, because gingivitis, more commonly known as periodontal disease, and the subsequent oral bacteria that react with the gastric juices in the stomach make some patients more susceptible to pancreatic cancer.

The treatment of this type of cancer depends on the stage, of which there are three:

• Local/resectable-this is when the cancer is confined to the pancreas and blood vessels are not involved or part of the tumor. The treatment would involve chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, and the patient may survive approximately for 17 months after treatment.