Pancreatic Cancer

According to Professor John Neoptolemos, "There are approximately 7,000 new cases each year - but it is one of the most lethal cancers." The main reason for the low survival rate from pancreatic cancer is due to its difficulty in finding this cancer early. By the time a person has symptoms, the cancer has often reached a large size and spread to other organs. Because the pancreas is deep inside the body, the doctor cannot see or feel tumors during a routine physical exam. There are currently no blood tests or other tests that can easily find this cancer early in people without symptoms. Tests for certain genes in people with a family history of the disease can help tell if they are at higher risk for cancer. There are some new tests for finding pancreatic cancer early in people with a strong family history of the disease, but these tests are complicated and expensive. Some symptoms of pancreatic cancer include jaundice, a yellow color of the eyes and skin caused by a substance buildup in the liver, pain in the belly area or in the middle of the back, significant weight loss over a number of months, loss of appetite, digestive problems including nausea, vomiting, pain that tends to be worse after eating, a swollen gallbladder that is enlarged, blood clots that form in the veins or cause problems with fatty tissue under the skin, and diabetes. If the doctor has any reason to suspect pancreatic cancer, certain tests will be done to see if the disease is really

There are not many defined risk factors known for pancreatic cancer. Some risk factors are “family history of the disease, smoking, age, and diabetes (Mayoclinic).” Ideally, pancreatic cancer cells can be detected early and the patient can be treated surgically, but once the cancer has spread, it is usually incurable. A popular clinical tool used to detect pancreatic cancer “is a tumor marker called sialylated Lewis blood group antigen CA19–9, which can act as a sensitive tumor marker, value diminishes when used to detect small, resectable tumors (Maitra,

Pancreatic cancer is the cancer that appears quickly and many die just as quick. Pancreatic cancer is the least known cancer to the medical world; puzzling doctors because most are not sure what diagnosis to look for. However, the risk factors include smoking, diabetes, and obesity. Studies show that pancreatic cancer has a higher percentage in the African American community due to environmental risk factors (John Hopkins Pathology, 2012).

Pancreatic Cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Currently there is no cure for this cancer and all available treatments simply prolong the life of the patient. Diagnosing pancreatic cancer rarely occurs at the onset of the disease due to the location of the pancreas in the body. Symptoms such as weight loss and upper abdominal pain do not show up until it is too late. Enzymes produced by tumors known as tumor markers are not reliable until the disease has well progressed. Once you have been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer there are different types of treatments that are offered to prolong your life.

Abdominal ultrasound is sometimes used for quick and cheap first examinations. If there is uncertainty about the diagnosis they may do a biopsy by fine needle aspiration. Pancreatic cancer is usually staged after a ct scan is done. The staging system is four stages,from early to advanced and based on TNM classification.TNM stands for Tumor size, spread to lymph nodes,and metastasis. Based on if surgical removal seems possible,the tumors are divided into three broader categories to help decide treatment. Tumors are resectable, borderline resectable or undetectable. If the disease is still in an early stage(stage 1 or 2) surgical resection of the tumor can be performed. Stage 3 tumors can be borderline resectable where surgery can technically still be done or unresectable where its to locally advanced. Stage 1 cancer is only found in the pancreas. Stage 1 is divided into a and b stages based on tumor size. Stage 1a is when the tumor is no bigger than 2 cm. Stage 1b is when the tumor is bigger than 2 cm. The second stage is when the cancer could have spread to nearby tissue and organs, and may have also spread to the lymph nodes near the

The indications of pancreatic adenocarcinoma don't generally show up in the disease's initial stages and are individually not different to the illness. The indications at diagnosis shift as per the area of the tumor in the pancreas, which anatomists divide into the thick head, the neck, and the decreasing body, finishing in the tail. Despite a tumor's area, the most

Signs and Symptoms from early to late stages include; Dark urine, pale stools, and yellow skin and eyes from jaundice, Nausea and vomiting, frequent bowel movement, Pain in the upper part of your belly and pain in the middle part of your back, relieved by a shift in position, Others may include weakness or feeling very tired with loss of appetite or feelings of fullness and weight loss. Pancreatic cancer can be diagnosis by having a blood tests, CT scan, an x-ray, ultrasound and endoscopy. Physical exam may examine abdominal changes in areas near the pancreas, liver,

This is because the pancreas is located deep in the belly just in front of the spine. As time goes on these cancers cells being to grow much bigger and when they do, they start causing different symptoms depending on the location of the cancer within the pancreas, by the time symptoms are noticed, they have grown and spread throughout the body. Easily identified symptoms are formed when tumor is already large enough to press on other organs of the body, some of these symptoms might include: jaundice which is caused by buildup of bilirubin, abdominal pain which is caused as a result of the cancer pressing on nearby organs, lack of appetite and pale greasy stools resulting when fatty foods are not being digested because cancer blocked the release of pancreatic juice into the intestine. Pancreatic cancer sometimes press on the far end wall of the stomach making it partly blocked thereby making food very hard to get through resulting in Nausea and vomit. Some other symptoms that might be hard to detect include gallbladder enlargement which can only be detected by imaging test, blood cloth and fatty acid

I am a lucky yet unlucky man. They call it PanCan, short for Pancreatic Cancer, there are many stages I must say yet there are relatively 20% survival rate and to get to live up to five years? 6% chance. The larger my tumor gets the less likely it’ll be cured. They give me 2 years top, if I am lucky; but I’ve learned to cope with the cancer. You see even people who have 3-5 cm appear to have been cured by surgery, I have hope. On a daily basis I find myself struggling with daily activities, changes in appearances and even anxiety of the future, and on top of all that, I am constantly anxious about treatment and if it will work. Pancreatic Cancer is cruel and ruthless, it will devour one’s

Out of those 48,960 people, 40, 560 of those lives will be taken from the cancer. Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis, mainly because this cancer spreads very quickly and is frequently diagnosed too late. Symptoms usually develop when the cancer is in its advanced stages. Signs and symptoms that may appear include upper abdominal pain, jaundice, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Pancreatic cancer occurs when there is a mutation within the cells of the pancreas. These accumulated mutated cells form a tumor. Most pancreatic cancer begins in the cells that line the ducts of the pancreas, however it can also occur in the hormone-producing cells. This type of cancer is known as islet cell cancer. Some risk factors that may increase the change of developing pancreatic cancer include diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, family history of pancreatic cancer, and

Pancreatic cancer is the cancer of the pancreas. The pancreas is an organ between the spine and the stomach, and is about 6 inches long. The pancreas is also made up of two major components named the exocrine and the endocrine. A person has to have a pancreas to survive and this cancer can cause a rapid decline in health and eventually death. To prevent this cancer, a person needs to stop smoking, maintain a healthy weight, and check up with your sugar.

There are two kinds of pancreatic cancer. There is the endocrine tumors and the exocrine tumors. Endocrine tumors are less common and they affect the islet cells of the pancreas. They tend to be benign and not often become malignant. However the exocrine tumors are much more common and this is what Gene is diagnosed with. Exocrine tumors are often called adenocarcinomas and that means cancer affect the gland cells such as the ducts of the glands (American Cancer Society). Pancreatic adenocarcinomas keep the glands from secreting normal The signs and symptoms of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is darkening of the urine, irritated skin, jaundice, pain in the upper abdomen and back, unexplained weight loss, stomach bloating, weakness, and nausea.

Pancreatic cancer is lethal malignancy with a mortality rate that almost equals its incidence. It is the 4th leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, with only a 5-year survival rate of about 6%. Pancreatic cancer remains to be one of the most aggressive tumors. When diagnosed 60-80% patients already have locally advanced or the tumor has already metastasized. A majority of pancreatic cancers are derived from the exocrine part of the pancreas. The exocrine part of the pancreas produces digestive enzymes that help break down proteins, fats, and starches. There are several mutations that have been identified in pancreatic cancer; these mutations can lead to potential biomarkers, leading towards a better prognosis for high risk patients.

Pancreatic cancer is when cancer cells form around the the tissue in the pancreas. It is located in your stomach in front of your spine. What the pancreas does for you is it makes the liquid and the hormones that help make your blood sugar normal. For the most part the start of pancreatic cancers start in the exocrine cells. Pancreatic cancer has a poor judgement that might happen in the future. It spreads very fast and not seen in the earlier stages. That is one reason this is one of the major cancers that leads to a lot of people's

The stomach was suspended from the abdominal wall, revealing the pancreas neck, body and tail. After exploration of the pancreas, pancreatic lesion was identified by using intraoperative laparoscopic ultrasound. In addition to this, with the help of laparoscopic coagulation shears inferior margin of the pancreas was divided to separate it from the retroperitoneum. The pancreas was then pulled superiorly and anteriorly, further revealing the superior mesenteric vein, inferior mesenteric vein and the splenic vein located within the fusion fascia of Toldt. The longitudinal dissection of the fusion fascia of Told towards the tail of the pancreas further revealed the splenic vein and was carefully isolated. Additionally, divulging and isolation of splenic artery was done by gentle traction of the splenic vein caudally using a vascular sling, where splenic artery lies just above the splenic vein Figure 2. The dissection then at that point continued from medial to lateral, ligating each branch of the splenic vessels encountered supplying the pancreas using laparoscopic coagulation shears or clips. After sufficient surgical margins were attained, the pancreas was transected 2 cm proximal to the tumor using 45 mm Endo-GIA stapler. Additionally, the Hem-O-lock was clamped to the distal end of the pancreatic body until the complete resection