The pancreas is a small organ located inside the stomach. It is mainly responsible for two functions performed in the body. The pancreas is divided into to two parts, the exocrine and endocrine. The exocrine produces enzymes to help the digestion process and the exocrine is responsible for controlling the blood sugar level in the body. When the blood sugar is high, it produces insulin to control the glucose in the blood. When the blood sugar is low it produces glycogen to increase the glucose in the blood. Although the pancreas is unknown by most people, its functions are very important to our body. Any problems resulting in the pancreas can cause other organs to function improperly. Problems such as pancreatic cancer do not only affect the pancreas, but can also affect the digestion process.
Pancreatic cancer occurs when there is an uncontrollable amount of cell growth in the tissues forming the pancreas. The tumor usually develops in the exocrine part of the pancreas. Detection of the tumor in the earlier stages is rare. Earlier stages do not have any visible symptoms, and even when the tumor has grown, the symptoms are still hard to detect. Most diagnoses occur when the tumor has spread to other organs. The lack of symptoms in the early stages makes it much harder to treat. This is the reason survival rate for a pancreatic cancer patient is very low. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths in America.
Although the earlier stages do not have any visible symptoms, the advancement of the tumor causes symptoms to appear. Most symptoms point to a digestion problem rather than cancer, and can be taken lightly, often times being overlooked and not taken seriously. Some of the most common symptoms are abdominal pain, loss of appetite, jaundice, digestion problems and depression. These symptoms can be intermittent, occurring for only short periods of time. These symptoms should be examined by a medical professional. Overlooking these symptoms allows the tumor to grow and eventually, move into other organs.
The cancer is divided into four stages, each stage requires a different method of treatment. Stage one is divided into two sub stages, stage 1A and stage 1B. In stage 1A, the tumor is 2 cm and has not spread into other organs, stage 1B is relatively the same, but the tumor has grown bigger than 2 cm. Stage 2 is also divided into 2 sub stages. In stage 2A, the cancer has started to grow into nearby tissues, it has not reached any large blood vessels or lymph nodes. In stage 2B, the cancer has spread to lymph nodes but not the blood vessels. In stage 3 the cancer grows outside the pancreas and reaches the nearby blood vessels. Stage 4 is the advanced cancer stage, at this point the cancer has spread to the liver and lungs.
Treatment depends on the stage of the cancer. In earlier stages, the cancer can be removed by applying surgery. Surgery is applied when the tumor is still localized in the pancreas. In later stages surgery is no longer an option due to the spread of the tumor. Other methods of treatment include radiation and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy and radiation are used to stop the tumor from spreading into other organs. Each patient is treated differently depending on the stage of the cancer. Different methods can be applied to achieve the best results.
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Pancreatic cancer occurs when there is an uncontrollable amount of cell growth in the tissues forming the pancreas. The tumor usually develops in the exocrine part of the pancreas. Detection of the tumor in the earlier stages is rare. Earlier stages do not have any visible symptoms, and even when the tumor has grown, the symptoms are still hard to detect. Most diagnoses occur when the tumor has spread to other organs. The lack of symptoms in the early stages makes it much harder to treat. This is the reason survival rate for a pancreatic cancer patient is very low. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths in America.
Although the earlier stages do not have any visible symptoms, the advancement of the tumor causes symptoms to appear. Most symptoms point to a digestion problem rather than cancer, and can be taken lightly, often times being overlooked and not taken seriously. Some of the most common symptoms are abdominal pain, loss of appetite, jaundice, digestion problems and depression. These symptoms can be intermittent, occurring for only short periods of time. These symptoms should be examined by a medical professional. Overlooking these symptoms allows the tumor to grow and eventually, move into other organs.
The cancer is divided into four stages, each stage requires a different method of treatment. Stage one is divided into two sub stages, stage 1A and stage 1B. In stage 1A, the tumor is 2 cm and has not spread into other organs, stage 1B is relatively the same, but the tumor has grown bigger than 2 cm. Stage 2 is also divided into 2 sub stages. In stage 2A, the cancer has started to grow into nearby tissues, it has not reached any large blood vessels or lymph nodes. In stage 2B, the cancer has spread to lymph nodes but not the blood vessels. In stage 3 the cancer grows outside the pancreas and reaches the nearby blood vessels. Stage 4 is the advanced cancer stage, at this point the cancer has spread to the liver and lungs.
Treatment depends on the stage of the cancer. In earlier stages, the cancer can be removed by applying surgery. Surgery is applied when the tumor is still localized in the pancreas. In later stages surgery is no longer an option due to the spread of the tumor. Other methods of treatment include radiation and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy and radiation are used to stop the tumor from spreading into other organs. Each patient is treated differently depending on the stage of the cancer. Different methods can be applied to achieve the best results.
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