Understanding Pancreatic Cancer

October 21, 2014

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.

Understanding Pancreatic Cancer

Obesity and cancer

August 8, 2014

Obesity Is the Second Major Risk Factor to Cancer after Tobacco

Obesity It is a known fact that being overweight is an avenue through which very many diseases can attack the body. Being overweight or other obese has caused many health complications among people of all ages and so needs to be fought at all costs. Obesity is often caused by poor eating habits. Eating foods that are not healthy is a major cause of obesity which is a host of many diseases that have threatened the human population. This condition can be curbed by eating whole foods that are rich in nutritional content. Eating foods that are refined and over processed seem to be the major cause of obesity. These foods lack fiber which is a vital component of every diet. Foods that rich in fiber help in keeping the body safe as they help in binding toxins and excreting them out of the body. Foods that are high in calories are known to cause massive weight gains and so should be limited to curb their harmful health effects.

There are diets that one can adopt to help stay lean and fit. It is also advisable to engage in physical exercise to help in shedding the extra weight that is known to cause serious health complications. Physical exercise is known to prevent many diseases especially heart related diseases but current research findings has also stated that doing exercise can help you keep away from bowel, breast and other types of cancer. By curbing obesity physical exercise curbs cancer in a great way.

Recent research findings have proved that women who engage in physical activity have less chances of getting breast cancer as compared to those who are inactive. The study results pointed out that women who involve in vigorous exercise in premenopausal as well as in postmenopausal stage greatly reduce their risk of cancer by up to 80 percent. It is therefore advisable for women as well as men to do exercise to curb obesity which causes cancer.

Exercise is not only good in weight loss but is also a sure way of keeping bodily organs active as it strengthens the body muscles, improves flexibility, improves body posture as well as strengthening the heart. It is also a good way to excrete through sweating clearing the blood vessels of clogs and improving air as well as nutrient supply in the body. Improved oxygen supply is not good for cancer cells as they do better in anaerobic conditions.

Engaging in vigorous exercise helps in breaking down excess fats and cholesterols to release energy therefore is a good way to get rid of excess fats and maintain an ideal weight that is free from many diseases associated with obesity inclusive of cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, obesity is the second major risk factor for cancer after tobacco. Several studies have also found that obesity increases the risk of death in cancer patients especially those with breast cancer. It has also been linked to recurrence of cancer in many patients with women in the post-menopausal stage being the major victims. This therefore calls a weight loss program in those cancer treatment centers. Some cancer treatments centers have not availed realized this need. However modern and top of class cancer centers like AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource
Center have seen the benefits of weight loss program and has given it emphasis in its cancer treatment programs. Dr. Dalal Akoury who heads AWAREmed knows the role obesity plays in cancer etiology and therefore has put in place weight loss program to save the situation making AWAREmed the best cancer treatment and resource center that is preferred by many patients.

Obesity causes hormonal imbalance

It is not the first time obesity is linked to health complications. In the past, obesity had been linked to many diseases such as high blood pressure among other dreaded diseases. Researchers have shown that obesity causes cancer mainly by influencing the actions of hormones as well as their levels. When the, levels of hormones are affected, the situation beckons hormonal imbalance which is the mother of all cancers in both men and women. In women breast cancer is one type of cancer that has hit headlines for the many lives it claims every year. It is also the most type of cancer caused by hormonal imbalance.

Obesity influences the levels of vital hormones such as the estrogen as well as insulin. Normally the hormone estrogen is produced in the ovaries of a woman. When women hit menopause the production of estrogen at the ovary stops. This therefore allows for alternative sources of hormone estrogen from the excess body fats. The more the fats the higher the levels of hormone in the body there ought to be a balance between the estrogen hormone and the testosterone hormone. In case of obesity the estrogen hormone becomes dominant leading high cancer risks. Excess body fats also lower the sex hormone binding globule which gets rid of excess hormone estrogen.

Obesity Obesity also increases the levels of the insulin hormone. Insulin is the hormone that transports glucose in the bloodstream. The cancer cells are more receptive to glucose than the healthy body cells, with high levels of insulin they get reliable source of glucose which provides them with energy to survive longer. So when obesity is curbed cancer risk is also reduced greatly.

Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an experienced integrative cancer doctor that has helped many cancer patients in their fight against the disease. She has worked hard not only in treating the disease but also in availing informational support to cancer patients at Awaremed which has become a place called home for many cancer patients. Call on her now and get help on cancer.