Pancreatic Cancer Facts
What is the pancreas- Courtesy of The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
“The pancreas is a gland, about six inches long, located in the abdomen. It is surrounded by the stomach, small intestine, liver and spleen. It is shaped like a flat pear. The wide end of the pancreas is called the head, the middle section is the body, and the thin end is the tail. The uncinate process is the part of the gland that bends backwards and underneath the head of the pancreas.
The pancreas has two main functions. One function is called the exocrine function. This involves the production of enzymes that help in digestion.
The second function of the pancreas is the endocrine function, which involves the production of the two hormones insulin and glucagon. Islet cells within the pancreas produce and secrete insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. These hormones work together to maintain the proper level of sugar in the blood.
When cells in the pancreas grow out of control, a tumor develops. In most cases of pancreatic cancer, the cells that line the pancreatic duct are involved. This type of pancreatic cancer is an exocrine tumor known as adenocarcinoma. A less common type of pancreatic tumor begins in the islet cells of the pancreas and is known as an endocrine tumor.”
What everyone should know...
People are beating the statistics every day! “Post-operative complications are lower and survival is improved when pancreatic cancer surgery or chemotherapy is performed at specialized centers, such as Johns Hopkins, UCLA, M.D. Anderson etc., than it is when the same surgery is performed at hospitals with a low pancreatic cancer surgery volume.” Courtesy of Johns Hopkins – The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center
Pancreatic cancer is treatable when caught early; the vast majority of cases are not diagnosed until too late.
- Five-year survival rates approach 40% if the cancers are surgically removed while they are still small and have not spread to the lymph nodes.
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose
- There is no reliable screening test for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
- Symptoms are often vague and easily confused with other diseases. We need to invest in the development of an effective screening test.
Who Has the Greatest Risk?
- People with two or more relatives who have had pancreatic cancer (see National Familial Pancreas Tumor Registry)
- Cigarette Smokers
- People of Ashkenazi Jewish descent
- Having the BRCA2, p16, STK11 gene mutation or chronic pancreatitis
- Are over the age of 50
Courtesy of the Pancreatic Center Network
