Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms and its Diagnosis

Added: 02/06/2006

Imagine passing a good amount of your time bent over the toilet vomiting. That's what happens quite often when someone has pancreatic cancer. What is the pancreas? It is the organ of digestive and endocrine systems. Pancreas is located under the stomach. Anatomically, in the pancreas recognize head, body and tail. The pancreas head is near the duodenum. Through the head biliary duct is flown. There are two parts of this organ: excretory and endocrine. The first part answers for digestive ferments production, the second one is responsible for insulin elaboration. Knowing pancreatic cancer symptoms and pancreatic cancer causes is of a great importance.

Why does the pancreatic cancer appear? Yet, nobody knows exactly. It is considered, that smoking, regular fat feeding, diabetes mellitus and chronic pancreatitis are the main pancreatic cancer causes. Mutations in the cells of pancreas lead to cancer cell clones increase and pancreatic cancer starts to grow. The risk of pancreatic cancer for smokers, who smoke one pack per day, is 4 times higher than for non-smokers.

The cutback of smoking does not reduce the cancer risk to a level of those who have never smoked. The pancreatic cancer risk rises in 10 times when smoking 40 cigarettes per day. It is a well-known fact that pancreatic cancer, as the second neoplasm, diagnoses more often after primary lungs, head and neck, and cystic growth.

Judgments about the role of feeding in pancreatic cancer genesis are unequivocal. The special importance is given to animal proteins and meat. The more quantity of fat meat and fat you eat, the higher risk of pancreatic cancer is. On the contrary, there are facts of protective effect of fruit and vegetable diet.

What are the pancreatic cancer symptoms? Pancreatic cancer symptoms depend on location of growth. If it is in the head of the pancreas, biliary duct is compressed and mechanical jaundice will appear. Bile, without ability to flow out, is absorbed into the blood. Skin and internal bodies become yellow.

Body and tail growth do not show pancreatic cancer symptoms for a long time. When they grow to such measures that the duodenum is compressed, the pancreatic cancer causes extensive pain.

The pain, determined by pancreatic cancer, is usually located in the top of the abdomen and may radiate to loins. In advanced forms of pancreatic cancer abdomen treatment appears, that causes the appearance of liquid. The stomach becomes bigger. Almost in all cases of pancreatic cancer the body weight decreases and appetite is in the lack.

Pancreatic cancer diagnosis is based not only on examination of patient and detection of main pancreatic cancer symptoms, but also on instrumental methods research. For pancreatic cancer diagnosis endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is widely used. By this method, the contrast substance is inserting into the biliary duct. In diagnostics of a pancreatic cancer ultrasound research is widely used, with the help of which visualization of bile ducts and pancreatic tumors is possible. Computer tomography also may be used.

With pancreatic cancer that is not inscribed in a classical picture of the disease a biopsy can be used. With the help of a thin needle, controlled by computer tomography, a small piece of pancreas is taken.

The pancreatic cancer treatment is very difficult. It needs surgical intervention. Unfortunately, the results of the operative interventions are far from ideal. After 5 years of the operation, only 10 per cent of patients survive.

The treatment of this cancer can also include chemotherapy. Using this method and healing with some modern preparations can reduce symptoms of disease and improve the patient's condition.

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