Jul
As we know, this killer disease has no symptoms and only diagnose when it's too late. What could be done to avoid this or what to do to find out if you’re not getting this? Does it begin by having stomach aches or similar to indigestion or colon cancer symptoms?
Answer:
Pancreatic cancer, primarily ductal adenocarcinoma, accounts for an estimated 37,000 cases and 33,000 deaths in the US annually. Symptoms include weight loss, abdominal pain, and jaundice. Diagnosis is by CT. Treatment is surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Prognosis is poor because disease is often advanced at the time of diagnosis. (Merck)
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. The disease is slightly more common in men than in women, and risk increases with age.
The cause is unknown, but it is more common in smokers and in obese individuals. Nearly a third of cases of pancreatic cancer are due to cigarette smoking. There’s controversy as to whether type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. A small number of cases are known to be related to syndromes that are passed down through families.
(MedlinePlus)
Prevention
Even though there's no proven way to prevent pancreatic cancer, you can take steps to reduce your risk, including:
* Quit smoking. If you smoke, quit. Speak to your physician about ways to help you quit, including support groups, medications and nicotine replacement therapy. If you don't smoke, don't start.
* Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight increases your risk of pancreatic cancer. If you need to lose weight, aim for a slow, steady weight loss — 1 or 2 pounds (0.5 or 1 kilogram) a week. Combine daily exercise with a plant-focused diet with smaller portions to help you lose weight.
* Exercise regularly. Aim for 30 minutes of exercise on most days. If you're not used to exercising, start out slowly and work up to your goal.
* Eat a healthy diet. A diet full of colorful fruits and vegetables and whole grains is good for you, and might help reduce your risk of cancer.
(MayoClinic).
Answer:
It isn't just pancreatic cancer that has no symptoms until it is advanced . . that’s true of all most every single cancer . . and there are over 200 different types and just as many rare subtypes. Cancer is a progressive disease which means it begin out microscopic and grows indefinitely. Little. Large. More massive. Massive. Enormous. When it is little no one can find it in a body . . it is too small to be noticed . . cancer is not something foreign . . it is your own DNA that has mutated . . so the body thinks about a cancer just another part of the body. Small cancer can co-incide quite nicely inside the body . . it isn't until the cancer begins to invade surrounding tissue at the More massive or Huge stage that it might be noticed.
So . . no cancer does not 'start' by having stomach aches or similar indigestion . . by the time you feel any of that . . the cancer is advanced. You literally . . feel nothing . .when cancer first starts. And the rest will depend on how aggressive the type of tumor you have .. some grow very fast and can take days or weeks . . but some grow very slowly and can take years. If you have a fast growing tumor than the cancer might be noticeable sooner but it is hard to get into treatment quick enough to stop it or slow it down . . if the tumors are slower growing than you may have more 'time' to make decisions about treatment. This fact is often confusing to people . . they don’t realize that many cancers are aggressive and fast growing and that time is critical (you don't have time to 'experiment' with treatments to see what will work - you might only get one chance to control the disease). And, than there are other types of slower growing cancers in which people do have more time to try out treatments. Treatment for cancer can be complicated by many factors . . which is why it is difficult to treat and why there’s no 'cure' for all cancers at this moment. There’s treatment though for all cancer types and that treatment could lead to an individual remission or 'cure'. . no guarantee though.
A well known survivor of pancreatic cancer is Steven Jobs, the founder of the Apple Personal who was diagnosed in 2004 and is doing very well.
Answer:
My aunt unfortunately has this. She started having problems with her stomach, like bad indigestion and pain in the stomach. She had tests, barium meal which showed up nothing. Then a year ago, she developed jaundice, which after that they discovered it was pancreatic cancer. She is now really thin, but getting chemotherapy, and has gained a few pounds. She has been told there is no cure and all they have the ability to do is try and shrink the tumour.
Answer:
the classical sign of pancreatic ca is migratory thrombophlebitis.. although rarely seen..
unfortunately as u have correctly put … diagnosis is usually late…
anorexia is one of the earliest signs.
sometimes patient might present with features of obstructive jaundice..
they may even present with features of acute pancreatitis….
rarely.. an asymptomatic lump in the upper abdomen
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