Pancreatic Cancer
Fighting a deathly organism that you know nothing about is complicated, especially one that you can’t see. My grandfather ran into the same problem about thirty years ago with pancreas cancer. The depressing part about him getting it is that he didn’t find out until it was too late to cure himself completely of it, like most pancreatic cancer patients go through.
Pancreatic cancer, to me, is probably one of the most unbeatable cancers you can receive since patients usually don’t find out that they have it until it’s too late. When this happens, doctors won’t do anything dealing with surgery. Therefore, they can’t cure you completely. They will, however, give a patient certain types of treatments in which we will expand on later. Pancreas cancer is a disease in which malignant (or cancer) cells are found in the tissues of the pancreas. Now, pancreas cancer can also refer to a cancer that starts in the pancreas and spreads to other parts of the body like the lungs.
The next topic we will be discussing is the statics of pancreatic cancer, not just in the U.S., but also all over the world. There have been 45,220 new cases and 38,460 deaths just this year. Now that’s a lot considering how often pancreas cancer is supposed to happen. The lifetime risk of a person getting cancer (not including the risk factors that relate to it) is about 1 in 75 people, which is a 1.47% chance. Pancreatic cancer has a five-year survival rate of 6% according to the American Cancer Society.
Scientists are not for sure how pancreas cancer is created or even how it gets in a person’s body. They think mutated genes in the pancreas most likely cause this to happen. They do know, however, certain risk factors that may cause it. These r...
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...o remove the head of her pancreas and part of her liver. She was healthy a few months afterwards... at least until it grew back. She’s feeling a lot better now since her pregnancy, not including the side affects of her radiotherapy and chemotherapy that her doctor has her doing once a month.
There are many instances when people don’t know they have pancreas cancer until it’s too late. When this happens, the survival rate is very low, which is also why pancreas cancer is referred to as a “Stealth Killer.” Doctors advise that if you have a chance in getting pancreas cancer, whether it’s because your family has experienced it or if have one the main risk factors, and you have the symptoms, you might want to get your yearly checkup earlier than usual, otherwise it’ll be too late for doctors to cure you completely of pancreas cancer if you turn out to have it.
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most dangerous cancer in the United States, and the more we learn about it, the less deadly it becomes. This cancer begins in the Pancreas, a gland behind the stomach, that aides in digestion and disperses hormones critical to keep our body functioning. While many people have a mild understanding of pancreatic cancer, most do not realize that “pancreatic cancer” is an umbrella term for many different types of cancerous tumors. The most common of these is the adenocarcinoma, which begins in the ducts of the pancreas
The pancreas is an elongated and flattened gland located within the abdomen. Not only is it a vital part of the digestive system, but it is also a key controller of blood sugar levels. (The Pancreas). The pancreas has been divided into four regions which are the head, neck, body, and tail. Being the widest part of the pancreas, the head is twenty-three millimeters. The part of the head that hooks towards the back of the abdomen is the uncinate (Chronic Pancreatitis Imaging). Between the head and body of the pancreas is the neck, which is about nineteen millimeters. The body of the pancreas is twenty millimeters, between the neck and the tail. The tail is the smallest part of the pancreas, measuring at only fifteen millimeters. (Parts of the Pancreas). The length of the pancreas in total ranges from four point seven to seven point one inches. The pancreas also weighs from seventy to one-hundred grams (How does the Pancreas Work?).
Cancer is a class of diseases that are caused mostly by out of control cell growth, and pancreatic cancer occurs when uncontrolled cell growth begins in the pancreas. Abnormal cells continue to divide in the pancreas to the point where the create tumors in the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer is catergorized depending on whether or not the exocrine or endocrine of the pancreas. There has to be an important distinction between the two broad types of pancreatic cancer because there are different risk factors, causes, symptoms, diagnostic tests, prognoses, and treatments.
Pancreatic Cancer is the third deadliest cancer in the world. The disease gets much less funding and recognition than many cancers that are nowhere near a deadly as Pancreatic Cancer. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network also helped establish the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition.
Although there are many causes of Pancreatic Cancer, there are also various ways to prevent the risk of being diagnosed with this often preventable disease.
Another problem people have with the pancreas is pancreatic cancer. Each year about 29,000 Americans and 3,000 Canadians are diagnosed with it.
Cancer can affect anywhere from the brain, lungs, and liver, to the breasts and heart. One of the most common types of cancer is “Carcinoma” “Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs -- "skin, lung, colon, pancreatic, ovarian cancers," (Medicine net)”. This shows that dozens of different types of cancer only fall into a small category and can all only be treated by certain means. Some types of cancers are even incurable making them particularly dangerous because once you get one of those types of cancers there is nothing that you can do except wait for the inevitable death that awaits you. Meanwhile other forms of cancers are minor, meaning that there is therapy and cures for them, however just because they are minor compared to the more deadly types of cancer, all forms of cancer are extremely potent and dangerous. Sarcoma is another form of cancer “that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue -- bone, soft tissue cancers, (Medicine Net)”. This form of cancer affects the body by taking out the supportive tissues and functions, causing extreme pain and discomfort for whom ever is unlucky enough to get it. One of the most common types of cancer is leukemia which “Cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and
“Since 1990, over 6 million Americans have died of cancer, more than the combined casualties from the Civil war, WWII, and the Vietnam and Korean conflicts combined” (Faguet, p. 5). According to American Cancer Society projections, there were 1,529,560 new cases of cancer in 2010. Cancer is becoming more and more common around the world. New cancers are constantly being discovered. Researchers are finding new ways to detect cancer and treat it so that the fatality rate does not rise. However, there are some cancers that researchers have not yet discovered a cure for. It is very important for Cancer Research to continue so that one day these cancers will no longer be a treat.
Cancer is a type of disease that has many variations. it is an extremely broad disease, consisting of over 200 different types. It affects millions of people around the world each year. The disease occurs because of an irregular cell growth in the body. The cells uncontrollably divide and grow through the process of mitosis. This creates either benign, or malignant tumors. Benign tumors are not dangerous, but malignant tumors are dangerous and are given the term ‘cancerous’. The malignant tumors can invade other parts of the body by traveling through either the bloodstream, or the lymphatic system. It is a very dangerous disease, it is not contagious, and it can be cured if it is diagnosed and treated early. Many cancers have a different mortality rate, but not all of the different types of cancers have a high mortality rate.
Smoking is one of the most significant risk factors for pancreatic cancer. The danger of getting pancreatic cancer is around twice as high between smokers compared to those who have never smoked. Around 20% to 30% of pancreatic cancers are supposed to be produced by cigarette smoking. Cigar and pipe smoking also raise risk, also use of smokeless tobacco products. (4)
The pancreas is located behind the stomach, surrounded by the liver and spleen. It is a vital organ for the digestive process – it helps convert consumed foods into fuel for the body. A healthy pancreas is responsible for producing hormones (by the endocrine gland) which circulate in the blood. It secretes pancreatic juices (by the exocrine gland), which contains enzymes to help with the digestive process. (http://www.uchospitals.edu/online-library/content=P00682) In pancreatic cancer, malignant cancer cells form in the tissues of the pancreas. “When the cancer metastasizes outside the pancreas, cancer cells are often found in nearby lymph nodes, the peritoneum, the liver, and the lungs.” (Pathology book) About 95% of pancreatic cancers begin in exocrine cells.
The pancreas regulates blood glucose levels and plays a key role in metabolism. The pancreas helps break down food in the small intestine by digestive juices and enzymes. One of the hormones the pancreas produces is insulin. This hormone is responsible for regulating glucose. All the cells in the body requires glucose for energy. If your body doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t properly make use of it than, the glucose builds up in the bloodstream. This can lead to hyperglycemia which is a deficiency of insulin secretion or decrease sensitivity of receptors on the target cells. Diabetes mellitus condition can exist in three different forms, type one, type two, and gestational diabetes mellitus. Type one is also called insulin dependent
The pancreas is the body part that controls the sugar level in the body. It is located in the abdomen, tucked behind the stomach. The shape of it is very odd, fat at one end and slender at the other and almost 25cm long. The pancreas is positioned on the opposite side of the liver. The color of it is pink, the head has a duct that allows the digestive compounds to flow into the small intestine near the stomach. The tail is left toward our spleen, a lymphatic organ that acts as our blood blank. The pancreas produces compounds that digest food after preparation by stomach acids.
one-third of all cases of pancreatic cancer are caused by people smoking. Smoking can cause a lot more problems than just pancreatic cancer. Because some tumors do not show signs or symptoms, it makes it hard to diagnose. Some symptoms consist of jaundice, pain in the abdomen, weight loss, diarrhea, inflammation in the pancreas, bloating, vomiting, weakness, and blood clots. Just because you may show a couple of those symptoms, does not mean that you 100% have pancreatic cancer. Even if you do not show any of those symptoms, that does not mean you do not have a risk of getting pancreatic cancer. The size of the pancreatic tumors depends, if by pressing on the surrounding nerves creates pain. The more pain the bigger the tumor is. People with diabetes develop pancreatic cancer twice as often as nondiabetics. Being overweight or obesity is a big risk factor. Even being exposed to certain types of chemicals can create pancreatic cancer. Between the ages 60-80, is when most people get diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 80% of the time. Males are twice as likely to get pancreatic cancer than
Like far too many others, cancer has posed as the greatest hurdle in my life. When I was twelve years old, my grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a rare and largely incurable form of cancer that proves to be immensely aggressive to the body of which it takes over. As fortunate as I was to live just down the road from my grandparents’ farm, I