Custom Search

Information on Pancreatic Cancer

Sunday, April 25, 2010 4:25:00 AM Posted by Cancer Centers

Pancreatic cancer is a relatively rare disorder, accounting for about 3 in 100 cases of all cancer in the US. Pancreatic cancer occurs almost twice as frequently in men as in women and the disease is slightly more common in African-Americans and Polynesians.

The pancreas is a spongy, tube-shaped organ about 6 inches long. The head of the pancreas is on the right side of the abdomen. It is connected to the duodenum, the upper end of the small intestine. The narrow end of the pancreas, called the tail, extends to the left side of the body.

The pancreas is a gland about five inches long located behind the stomach. It is surrounded by the liver, gallbladder, and small intestine. The pancreas has two main functions. One is to produce digestive fluids needed to neutralize stomach acids and break down food. Pancreatic cancer occurs when abnormal (cancerous) cells grow in the tissues of the pancreas.

Pancreatic cancer is the seventh leading cause of cancer in the U.S., and the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths. The American Cancer Society estimated that 33,730 new cases of pancreatic cancer would have been reported in the U.S. in 2006. Although the rates of pancreatic cancer have declined in men over the past 20 years, the rates in women have remained constant. Nonetheless, pancreatic cancer most commonly affects males, occurring most often in people over the age of 45.

The Facts on Pancreatic Cancer
About one in 79 people will develop pancreatic cancer (cancer of the pancreas) over their lifetime. In North America in 2007, pancreatic cancer was responsible for the fourth highest number of deaths among cancer deaths. The risk of developing pancreatic cancer is about the same for both men and women. Pancreatic cancer is sometimes called a silent disease because it is difficult to detect and symptoms do not usually appear until the cancer has grown for quite some time.

This cancer is difficult to diagnose because there are no symptoms in the early stages and because , when symptoms appear, they match other diseases. Depending on the stage and location of the cancer, surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy may be used. If the cancer has not spread beyond the pancreas, therapy can be successful, but, as stated earlier, it's very unlikely to find pancreatic cancer in the early stages. In later stages, often the therapy concentrates on the comfort of the patient.

Complete resection is the only effective treatment of pancreatic ductal carcinoma. Regrettably, such curative operations are possible in less than 15 percent of patients and are limited, for all practical purposes, to those individuals with tumors in the pancreatic head that have caused jaundice leading to an earlier diagnosis. Tumor spread to other sites in the abdomen such as the lining of the abdominal cavity (“peritoneum”), liver, or to the lungs is a contraindication to major surgery.

Pancreatic Cancer and Its Alternative Treatments
Pancreatic cancer affects the pancreas, an organ which forms part of our digestive system. It is caused in much the same way as most cancers, whereby abnormal growth in cells leads to a lump on the pancreas which then requires treatment.

The most common type of pancreatic cancer is known as exocrine, which begins by forming in the cells lining the ducts. However, another type of pancreatic cancer is known as endocrine, which is characterized by the production of hormones, and this is much rarer.

Causes
There are no specific causes of pancreatic cancer, but as with many cancers there are a number of factors which can increase the risk of us developing the condition. Smoking is perhaps the most obvious thing that we can avoid to prevent getting the disease, but eating a diet high in fats and sugars, as well as taking relatively little exercise, being overweight or drinking too much alcohol can all increase our risk levels.

Symptoms
Pancreatic cancer is particularly difficult to diagnose because there are so many different possible symptoms. These include itchy skin, general sickness, diabetes, fever, producing dark-coloured urine, developing stomach pain, experiencing weight loss or developing jaundice.

Standard Treatment
All of these vague symptoms mean that pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late, meaning the level of treatment required will be much more extreme.

Earlier treatment will often involve surgery, but if the cancer is caught later then this will usually mean being treated with chemotherapy, with all the nasty side effects that this can produce, such as sickness, rashes and fluid retention.

Radiotherapy is not used for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, and is generally only being used in the later stages of the disease where it can help to slow it down.

Alternative Treatments
Due to the harsh nature of the standard forms of treatment, many of us choose to go with alternative treatments instead. There are a number of different types of alternative treatments available, and often they can work together to lead to the best results.

Bio-photonic light treatment is a natural form of treatment that has been seen to produce good results. This is concerned with increasing the energy levels of individual cells which have become damaged and weakened due to the cancer. Through a process of directing UV rays towards them, these cells are pumped full of energy to better help them to restore our natural energy levels, thereby helping us to deal with the condition.

This often goes alongside a very kind and non-invasive type of treatment consisting of emotional freedom techniques (EFT). This consists of a whole range of different treatments that aim to focus on our emotional healing and meridian balancing. It is based on the idea that many cancers and degenerative diseases are triggered by a particularly stressful or traumatic event in our lives, which distorts the positive balance of the cells within the body. The aim is then to reverse this process by balancing the cells.

There are also a few formulas which people can use as alternative therapies, two of which are Formula MVA and Formula PG. Formula MVA is a dietary supplement that works by boosting the immune system, thereby helping the body to naturally overcome the cancerous cells. It contains a whole host of natural substances, including Palladium, Vitamins B1, B2 and B12, and Acetyl Cystiene amongst others, and it aims to increase the energy levels in the cells. It can even be used alongside traditional treatments to lessen their damaging side effects.

Formula PG makes use of peptides which come from pig spleens, which have long been known to help patients with degenerative diseases. These peptides allow cells and organs to communicate better with their surrounding environments and each other.

All of these alternative therapies can be used individually or in combination to produce an entirely different type of treatment for cancer sufferers that do not suffer from the same painful side effects of conventional treatments.


0 Response to "Information on Pancreatic Cancer"

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...