Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease that does not usually get detected until it has reached advanced stages which makes pancreatic cancer treatment quite complicated. The pancreas is a spongy, tubular organ around 6 inches in length. It is located in the back of the abdomen behind the stomach. The pancreas secretes enzymes that help digestion and hormones that help the regulation of the metabolism of carbohydrates. Pancreatic cancer is essentially a malignant tumor in the pancreas. The prognosis in the case of pancreatic cancer is usually poor and the results of treatment are also such. Most patients survive for about 3-6 months after diagnosis. Very few patients survive for 5 years after commencing treatment and complete remission is even rarer.
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer
If you notice any of these symptoms then you should immediately see an oncologist who will diagnose the disease and suggest pancreatic cancer treatment. Loss of appetite and unintended weight loss among which unintentional weight loss is a common symptom of pancreatic cancer. Most cancers cause weight loss because the cancerous cells do not allow the healthy cells to get the sufficient nutrients and this is especially true in pancreatic cancer.
As the cancer spreads and grows one develops a pain in upper abdomen and sometimes it spreads to the back. The pain worsens while eating or lying down. A patient may also experience nausea, and weakness. In some cases the patient develops jaundice which is caused by the buildup of billirubin. The symptoms of pancreatic cancer are quite vague which makes timely pancreatic cancer treatment quite difficult.
Treatments of pancreatic cancer
Radiation therapy and chemotherapy can be used to kill the cancerous cells. Sometimes surgical removal of the pancreas is also performed. Sometimes along with the pancreas a portion of the stomach, duodenum, and nearby tissues are also removed during the surgery. A stent is placed in the bile duct to drain the bile into the small intestine.
Once detected pancreatic cancer is treated with the help of chemo and radiation therapy, surgery and stent placement. All these procedures are highly advanced and the surgery for removing part or whole of the pancreas is pretty complicated. This is the reason that the doctors treating this ailment have to be knowledgeable and experienced. At the same time, the infrastructure in the pancreatic cancer centers needs to be highly advanced because the diagnosis and treatment requires advanced technology.
Cancer is essentially the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. These mutant cells divide very fast and their rate of growth far exceeds the growth of normal cells. Over a period of time the cancer cells dominate the normal tissue of the body and make biological processes impossible to complete. Cancer can occur anywhere in the body and in any organ. Radiation therapy is still the most popular cancer treatment option. In this therapy high energy radioactive waves are used to kill the cancerous cells. The radiation damages the genetic material of the cancer cells which makes it impossible for the cells to continue dividing.
Radium was one of the first radioactive elements to be discovered and hence it was widely used for targeted radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer. Science has evolved over time and although radium is still used, many other methods and metals are also included in the process of cancer treatment. Radium has been proven as a satisfactory medium for radiation therapy. Radiation therapy involving radium involves an invasive procedure during which small gold tubes containing radium are inserted into the cancerous tissue. This causes the radiation from the radium to locally kill off the cancerous cells.
However, radium therapy is no longer the preferred option for cancer treatment and the most commonly used materials for radiation therapy nowadays are indium or cesium. Although the materials have changed, the general procedure for treatment is still the same. Even with these materials small devices containing the radioactive material are implanted around the affected tissue. The radiation emanating from these materials kills off the cancerous tissue slowly but surely. Sometimes cancer treatment may involve both radiation therapy as well as surgical removal of the affected organ or body part. This is usually the case with advanced stages of cancer.
An oncologist has to continually educate him or herself and keep abreast of the latest advancements in treatment for cancer. He or she should be adept at operating sophisticated equipment required during the process of radiation therapy and should also be an accomplished surgeon because many times surgery is required in the treatment of cancer along with chemo therapy and radiation therapy. The surgical procedures are used in order to surgically remove the affected organ or body part and may be quite complex. Above all, a cancer doctor should be compassionate. one who is conditioned to the anguish and pain felt by their cancer patients. He or she should be able to provide comfort and support and also prepare the patient mentally as well as physically for the treatment procedures.
About the Author: Choice Cancer Care is an independent , physician-owned cancer center network. Dr. Gregory Echt, a radiation oncologist with nearly two decades of experience, is the founder of Choice Cancer Care. Choice Cancer Care is among the busiest practices in the country for brachytherapy, or prostate seed implant therapy - a cancer treatment plan for prostate cancer that provides remarkable success rates and fewer life-limiting side effects.
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