The pancreatic cancer awareness month is November and the color Purple has been chosen for pancreatic cancer awareness. The National Cancer Institute spends more than $50 million dollars a year for research into the study of pancreatic cancer.

Early stages of pancreatic cancer are very difficult to diagnose, that is why it is commonly known as the ‘silent disease’.

Common symptoms of pancreatic cancer are as follows:

- Pain in upper abdomen which later transfer to the back
- Nausea, appetite loss
- Weight loss
- Jaundice (painless)

Some of the risk factors and lifestyle choices that may cause pancreatic cancer are old age, smoking, obesity, low vegetable diet, high red meat diet, alcohol and genetic factors.

The stage of cancer development decides the treatment mode. The most common surgical treatment for cancer is the Whipple procedure. The Whipple procedure is undergone on pancreatic cancers which involve the pancreas head. This procedure can be performed in cases where the local structures are not invaded. For the tumor which involves the pancreatic tail, a new procedure called Distal Pancreatectomy is done. Even after the surgery is performed there will be some remains of the tumor tissues which can be eliminated by means of chemotherapy with gemcitabine.

For those patients who are not suitable for curative intent resection, Palliative chemotherapy is used to help gain a survival benefit. Gemcitabine is administered on a weekly basis for all patients undergoing chemotherapy. Fluorouracil and Oxaliplatin may also be included in the treatment but they are not approved yet. Erlotinib is used in combination with gemcitabine for pancreatic cancer treatment as a palliative regimen. It helps in improving the tumor response, the survival rate.

There is no guidelines to prevent pancreatic cancer says the American Cancer Society. 20-30% of the cancer is caused by cigarette smoking. So it is recommended to keep a healthy weight and by increasing the consumption of grains and vegetable in your diet. There is no proof that red meat can cause pancreatic cancer, but it is advised to avoid the intake of red meat in large amount. A study conducted in September 2006 concludes that the risk of pancreatic cancer can be reduced by vitamin D. Studies in July 2007 proved that vitamin B also can help in the reducing the risk factors of pancreatic cancer.

Statistics on Survival Rate of pancreatic cancer

The following is the various statistics on pancreatic cancer life expectancy or  the survival rate around the world.

• In 1992-99, only 4% of the white people in the United States survived (Cancer
Facts and Figures, American Cancer Society, 2004)

• In 1999, the death toll in United States is reported as 29,082 (NVSR Sep 2001)

• In 1992-99, only 4% of the African American people in the United States
survived (Cancer Facts and Figures, American Cancer Society, 2004)

• The average life expectancy after diagnosis is 3 to 6 months (Media
Conference, Arizona Cancer Center and University Medical Center)

Pancreatic function tests

The most important factor which helps in improving the length of life
expectancy of the people suffering with this disease is that how early this
disease is diagnosed. The study which deals with tumors is oncology. Oncologists use several methods to diagnose this disease. These tests are called pancreatic function tests.

An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay is use to conduct the test which helps to check the exocrine status in the pancreas. Fecal elastase is compared with that of the pancreatic alastase. If the fecal elastase is lower then two hundred, then it indicates the insufficiency of pancreatic exocrine.

Blood tests should be conducted to test how well the liver, pancreas and gall bladder functions. The pancreatic enzymes, amylase and lipase will be measured while conducting this test. Dehydration and anemia effects are also tested simultaneously. There are many other tests that can help in early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. These tests help in improving the pancreatic cancer life expectancy and the survival rate.

It is very important because only with the help of the result of tests doctor
will be able to give treatment based on the stage of cancer. The patient will
have to undergo more tests to find whether the cancer has spread from the
pancreas to the tissues surrounding it or to other body parts. Though there are advanced equipments for performing tests, doctors will not be able to tell the exact stage of the cancer until after surgery.

This process of testing is known as staging, and these steps help the doctor to devise a necessary plan for the patient’s treatment. Following are the stages used to describe exocrine cancer of pancreas:  

Stage I

This is the primary stages of pancreatic cancer. The cancer is only inside
the pancreas region. Except in pancreas no other organs of the body is affected from cancer.  

Stage II

This is the second stage of Cancer in which the cancer tends to spread to the
organs nearby, such as duodenum or bile duct. But for sure it might not have entered lymph nodes. In other words, though the cancer seems to grow locally it might not have spread through the blood or the lymph nodes which is a bit far from pancreases.  

Stage III

The cancer has affected the lymph nodes too. But it might have not affected
the organs nearby 

Stage IV A

Now in this stage the cancer has covered organs too such as stomach, colon
or spleen that are nearby pancreas.  

Stage IV B

At this stage of pancreatic cancer, the cancer should have spread to organs
like stomach, colon and spleen that are near to the pancreas or also to the
liver or lungs which is far away from the pancreases.  

Recurrent: After the cancer is being treated there are chances that the cancer can hit back (recurred) to pancreas or to the other parts of the body.

Geminin and bioflavonoid apigenin:

Geminin and bioflavonoid apigenin are the two main factors for the disease. The apigenin is an anti tumor flavonoid that prevents the tumor formation in the cells, inhibits the cell proliferation of the disease. Geminin, a recently
identified novel protein of the pancreatic cancer research, prevents the
abnormal replication of DNA by binding to the essential things that are needed for the replication of DNA. The growth of the Geminin is affected by the apigenin. Thus this research says that the pancreatic cancer cells exhibits the over secretion of the Geminin and low regulation of the bioflavanoid apigenin.

Pancreatico-duodenectomy treatment results:

This pancreatic cancer research deals about the treatment of pancreatic
cancer.The pancreatico-duodenectomy is the only treatment that may result potential cure for the disease. Many of experts use the methods like palliative resection. The research about the outcome of the three methods are being done and estimated. A test has been conducted with a group of patients to define the outcome of the Pancreatico-duodenectomy. Ninety nine consecutive are given Pancreatico-duodenectomy treatment, about sixty seven patients underwent resected and thirty two with palliative bypass.

The results are as follows:

The survival of the palliative bypass is 34 percent in Tthe first year and none in the second year. For the resection the rate of survival is seventy percent in first year, and 10 percent in the fifth year.

The result about the pancreatic disease treatment showed that the
Pancreatico-duodenectomy and resection has proved to cure this disease. This deadly disease needs to be prevented utmost in the early stages of the
development or else this may ruin the quality of life for the person.

Tarceva and Gemzar combinational therapy is given to advanced Pancreatic Cancer patients whose cancer cannot be removed surgically, or to those patients who have not taken chemotherapy yet. Pancreatic Symptoms varies from individuals. The most common symptoms are Back pain, Constipation, Loss of appetite, which results in weight loss, Jaundice with dark yellow colored urine.  

How does Tarceva work on the patients?

Tarceva, which is the gold Standard treatment for Pancreatic Cancer works
differently from other chemotherapies. Tarceva prevents the growth of tumor cells present on the pancreas. It breaks the cells by blocking the protein present on the cancer cells which is responsible for the growth of the cancer cells. The protein present in human body is called Human Epidermal Growth Receptor (HGR1/EGFR). The tarceva pancreatic caner is used to treat adverse conditions of cancer. Tarceva pills must be taken either an hour before eating or two hours after eating. Gemzar can be given through needle injection.

 Rash is very common side effect of Tarceva. Mild soaps and Mild moisturizers can be used to treat the affected areas. It is a must to avoid drinking grape juices during in take of Tarceva. Some people experience nausea, Vomiting, Cough, Eye irritation and fever too while taking this treatment. It is advised to consult a doctor incase of the above symptoms. For nausea and Vomiting greasy foods can be avoided. Patients also experience heart attack or Stroke during the treatment. Once you consult a doctor, he/she might reduce the dose of Tarceva taken everyday. Pregnant women taking Tarceva must avoid breastfeeding or else it may  affect the new born.

To increase appetite, patients can take a short walk. To increase or maximize the effect of the treatment, patients who are likely to be benefited can be selected. Another way is to increase the dose of the drugs depending on the stage of the cancer. Combinational therapy works out well and Tarceva helps to increase the life span of human. Thus tarceva pancreatic cancer plays an important rule in the treatment of the disease.

The pancreatic cancer treatment is very important since it is a deadly
disease. The primary treatments for the patients with exocrine pancreatic cancer can be grouped into three types.

1. Surgery

2. Radiation Therapy

3. Chemotherapy

Also biological therapy is being studied for the treatment of cancer.

Surgery

The surgery is one of the best pancreatic cancer treatments. This can be
referred as one of the most common procedure used to remove the cancer of the endocrine system. For the purpose of taking out the tumor a doctor may use one of the following methods to take out the cancer…….

Whipple procedure (pancreatic duodenectomy)

This procedure is being used by the surgeon in order to remove the pancreas head, i.e. a part of small intestine also some of the nearby tissue. The Surgeon will leave enough of pancreas to make the pancreas continue secretingdigestive juices and insulin. 

 Pancreatectomy

In this surgery the surgeon removes the whole pancreas, part of the stomach, part of small intestine, the gall bladder, the spleen and finally most of the lymph nodes in the area.

 Distal pancreatectomy

This procedure is most commonly practiced for islet cell (endocrine) cancer of the pancreas. This is rarely used for exocrine pancreas cancer. Here the body and tail of the pancreas are completely removed.

In case the cancer has spread to a wide part and it cannot be removed, the  doctor will recommend the patient to have a surgery in order to relieve symptoms. If in case the cancer tends to block the small intestine and if the bile builds up in the gall bladder, the doctor will strongly recommend to have a surgery which will make ago-around (ie bypass) all or part of small intestine. During this surgery doctor will cut the gall bladder or bile duct and they will sew it to the small intestine. This is also called as biliary bypass.

 Radiation therapy

In this procedure x-rays with high energy is being used In order to kill
cancer cells and to shrink tumors. In this procedure the radiation will come from outside the body through a machine (external radiation therapy) or from putting materials that tend to produce radiation from thin plastic tubes in theplace where cancer cells are found. This is one of the best pancreatic cancer treatment methods.

 Chemotherapy

In this procedure drugs are being used in order to kill the cancer cells. Mostly the drugs are being injected into vein or muscle. Some are being given orally. This is one of the systematic treatments in which the drug tends to flow through the blood stream to nearly every part of the body - which kills the affected cells. This is generally given in cycles.

Pancreatic cancer is the 5th leading dangerous disease in the world. The
knowledge and the information about this disease are very much essential for us to care for our loved ones. The pancreatic cancer is the formation of a tumor in the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer  slowly turns in to a deadly disease, if it’s left untreated. Thus pancreatic cancer prognosis is very important and needs to be done early in the formation of the deadly cancer.

Prognosis:

The prognosis is the possibility that a patient suffering from pancreatic cancer may get cured or the possibility that a patient may get the disease again after recovery.

Here are some of the factors which may affect the pancreatic cancer prognosis, they are as follows:

1.Patients age, health and treatment method.

2. How far the cancer cells has spread (status or stage of the disease)

3. Pancreatic cancer cell’s nature (how quick it can spread)

4. Size and location of the tumor.
The death rate of this disease is getting very high and therefore there is a
definite need for prognosis and treatment. The pancreatic cancer prognosis isinfluenced by various factors.

• Whether the tumor is in removable position.

• Whether the cancer has to be diagnosed or to be recurred.

• Patient’s health.

• Stage of the disease.

 The doctors and physicians are careful and consider these factors for the
prognosis of the disease.  Doctors can determine the prognosis only a certain extent, and cannot always be determined accurately.

 Five year Survival rates:

The survival rate is not very encouraging. The five year survival rate taken in the year 1995-2001 described how deadly the disease is; since the survival rate is 4.6 percent. The survival rate based on race and sex was estimated which yielded the result of

White men – 4.7 %

White women -4.2%

Black men – 2.9%

Black women -5.6%  

Pancreatic cancer prognosis - Stage Impact

The pancreatic cancer prognosis has an impact on the stage of the disease.
Based on the historical data of the pancreatic cancer patients – this is how the numbers breakdown. 

7% are treated and diagnosed when the disease is in primary stage.

26% of the disease is diagnosed when the disease spreads to the lymph and
joints.

52% diagnosed in the stage when the cancer is about to spread.

14% has unknown stage of pancreatic cancer.

Thus it is clear that the pancreatic cancer is a disease that is of  a great
threat, so a complete knowledge about the disease helps us to lead a more normal life. The prevention of the disease is the best way to eradicate this
type of cancer from the world, and as science learns more about the cancer, the amount of a quality lifestyle should improve .

Canine Pancreatic Cancer, immune dysfunction disease is the most pathetic
type of cancer which is found in dogs. The affected dog is mostly not treatable. After the age of Seven  dogs are most likely to get the Canine Pancreatic Cancer.  Canine pancreatic cancer can be treated and chance of survival is high if the symptoms were recognized at an early stage. But symptoms cannot be recognized easily in Canine just like Humans.

It is very difficult to treat advanced Pancreatic Cancer Canines. Some of the symptoms are blood in stool, Pancreatic Cancer disease in dogs causes canine digestion problem which results in Vomiting and diarrhea, unusual behavior of canines, loss of co-ordination, weight loss, loss of appetite, lethargy. Internal symptoms like lesions on the liver, low level heart condition can be diagnosed by veterinarian using Ultrasound.

 Canine Pancreatic Cancer treatment can be done by the following three ways:

 Surgery – Removes the cancer cells. Survival of Canine is possible if
all cancer cells are removed thoroughly.  

Radiation therapy – Radiation particles like protons, Photons,
electrons are focused on the canine and tumors are removed. Dogs can very well
tolerate the pain during the radiation therapy.  

Drug therapy - K9 Immunity is a pill used for the treatment of Pancreatic
Cancer. This drug affects the growth of tumors or cancer cells and thereby can cure cancer in Canines.

 Success of the treatment depends on the Dogs age, previous medical history, where the tumor is, Stage of tumor, dogs diet. Mostly tumors are found on or below the skin and hence they can be removed surgically. Cancer is the most common diseases  among all breeds of  dogs.
Your dog’s diet must be taken care  of to prevent Cancer. Most dog’s diet is mostly based on grains which does not produce enzymes for digestion. A K9 Immunity drug develops immunity against this disease. Food is the cause of Most of the diseases. Proper diet is very essential. Though expensive some dog’s food are rich in nutrients and Vitamins. To prevent cancer and protect our loved ones we can get foods which have rich value.