NO PATIENT CARE ISSUES SHOULD BE COMMUNICATED THROUGH THIS FORM.
Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
The pancreas is a gland located behind the stomach and in front of the spine. The major role of pancreas is to produce digestive juices and hormones that regulate blood sugar. Pancreatic cancer is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the pancreas. The majority of pancreatic cancers start in the exocrine cells.
SYMPTOMS
- Jaundice
- Pain in the upper or middle abdomen
- Pain in the back
- Unexplained weight loss>
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue
- Depression
DIAGNOSIS
- Biopsy
- Endoscopic ultrasound
- CT scan
- Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (procedure of X –Ray of Liver and Bile Duct)
- MRI
- Laparoscopy
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
AVAILABLE TREATMENTS IN INDIA:
- SURGERY
- Surgery for tumors in the pancreatic head – If your cancer is located in the head of the pancreas, you may consider an operation called a Whipple procedure or pancreaticoduodenectomy.
The Whipple Procedure, or pancreaticoduodenectomy, is the most commonly performed surgery to remove tumors in the pancreas. In a standard Whipple procedure, the surgeon removes the head of the pancreas, the gallbladder, part of the duodenum which is the uppermost portion of the small intestine, a small portion of the stomach called the pylorus, and the lymph nodes near the head of the pancreas. The surgeon then reconnects the remaining pancreas and digestive organs so that pancreatic digestive enzymes, bile, and stomach contents will flow into the small intestine during digestion. In another type of Whipple procedure known as pylorus preserving Whipple, the bottom portion
of the stomach, or pylorus, is not removed.
- Surgery for tumors in the pancreatic body and tail – Surgery to remove the left side (body and tail) of the pancreas is called distal pancreatectomy.
- Surgery to remove the entire pancreas – In some people, the entire pancreas may need to be removed. This is called total pancreatectomy.
- Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy uses drugs to help kill cancer cells. These drugs can be injected into a vein or taken orally. You may receive one chemotherapy drug or a combination of them. It will be decided by your doctor that when you should be receiving chemo. It is given before or after surgery to treat the cancer.
