Understanding Pancreatic Cancer

Causes of pancreatic cancer

Just like all the other types of cancers, there is no a single cause of pancreatic cancer. What usually happens is that a person who is inherently predisposed to the development of this disease gets exposed to any of the many different forms of risk factors. This sets the stage for the development of the disease.

Therefore there are several factors that can predispose one to the disease. For instance, research has indicated that pancreatic cancer is common in people who smoke than in those who do not. Therefore, smoking is one of the predisposing factors to pancreatic cancer. Also, it has been shown that the disease is common in people of advanced age. So, with an increase in age, the possibility that one will develop this disease increases dramatically, if other contributing factors are present.

Lastly, the presence of particular medical conditions may contribute to the possibility of one developing pancreatic cancer. One common disease that acts as a predisposing factor to pancreatic cancer is diabetes. Patients who have diabetes usually face a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those who do not.

Pancreatic Cancer

Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer

The signs and symptoms that patients of pancreatic cancer show may be a result of different types of diseases. Besides, signs of pancreatic cancer usually appear long after the disease has developed within a patient. However, there are common signs which pancreatic cancer patients do show at times. One of them is persistent pain in the back and the stomach as well as sudden loss of weight. All these, combined with jaundice, are signs that a person may be having pancreatic cancer.

How pancreatic cancer is detected

One common problem that makes the detection of pancreatic cancer a difficult process is that the disease rarely shows symptoms during its early stage of development. What usually happens is that the disease develops silently within the body of an individual. It is only when it is really late that the signs and symptoms begin to appear.

However, doctors are able to detect the presence of the disease relatively fast. This is usually done using a general procedure which is carried out as follows. First, a general medical examination is done on a patient. The aim of this is to quickly detect any abnormal condition in the patient before further tests are carried out. Secondly, a thorough medical history of the patient is revisited. The aim of doing this is to get an insight into the medical history of a patient so as to determine whether the current situation has a historical basis. Lastly, a thorough examination is done to determine whether or not a patient has pancreatic cancer.

The diagnostics is usually carried out using one of the many different forms. For instance, use of CT scans may be used to determine whether there are cancer cells in the pancreas of a patient. It is after the presence of cancer cells in the pancreas of a patient has been detected and confirmed that a specific treatment method is recommended.

Different treatment options for pancreatic cancer

There are different methods that can be used to treat pancreatic cancer. However, before a particular option is chosen, there are several factors that are taken into consideration. The first one is the degree to which the disease has advanced. Usually, when pancreatic cancer has advanced so much, it may be difficult to use certain therapies. The second one is the overall health of the patient. To some patients, overall weakness of the body may make it inappropriate for a doctor to recommend specific causes of treatment for pancreatic cancer.

All these factors are taken into consideration when one is undergoing treatment for this type of cancer. Usually, the treatment seeks to achieve two main objectives: completely remove all the cancer cells in the pancreas and restore the patient to stable health.

It may be difficult to achieve both objectives in cases where the cancer has really progressed. However, in most case, ordinary treatment methods are used to remove the tumor and help the patient recover from the effects of the disease. For instance, special chemotherapy treatment may be used on a patient. This usually involves the use of different types of drugs over a course of time. Also, radiation treatment may be used to directly kill the cancer cells in the patient. Lastly, surgical procedures may be used to remove the tumor from the pancreas of the patient.

Integrative treatment methods for pancreatic cancer

What is important to note is that no single method has been proven to be effective in treating pancreatic cancer. This is because the disease usually develops without showing clear symptoms and by the time the symptoms begin to appear, the disease is usually at an advanced stage of development.

It is this situation that has made the use of alternative treatment methods quite popular. At AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Centre, we believe in the use of alternative treatment methods as an adjunct to the conventional treatment methods such as chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. You will find our therapies and services in general quite convenient. Our use of alternative treatment methods for pancreatic cancer is to enhance the efficacy of the conventional therapies used and ensure that you get over the effects of the treatment and the disease quite fast.