Choose a Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer occurs when the pancreas, a small, pear-shaped organ that produces hormones and digestive fluids, becomes afflicted with the growth of cancer cells. Treatment options vary, depending on the patient's age, overall health and the stage the cancer has reached.
Instructions
Know Your Surgery Options for Pancreatic Cancer
1. Educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about your condition in order to make an informed decision about your treatment options (see Resources below).
2. Be aware that surgery is currently the only way to eliminate pancreatic cancer from your body entirely. Remember, though, that it is an extremely difficult procedure requiring the removal of a portion of your pancreas and, perhaps, other organs. Choose surgery when the condition is detected early, though you should know it carries a significant risk of infection and internal bleeding.
3. Consider a total pancreatectomy only if you have an advanced or extreme case. This procedure involves the surgical removal of your entire pancreas, as well as your gall bladder, bile duct and part of your intestine and stomach, including many lymph nodes in the affected area. This is, however, a very risky procedure.
4. Choose your surgeon carefully. The best results are generally attained when highly experienced pancreatic cancer specialists perform the operation.
5. Have post-operative radiation or chemotherapy treatment options explained in detail. These can be used as preventative measures against a recurrence of pancreatic cancer that's been successfully treated using surgery.
Consider Your Other Treatment Options
6. Speak to a radiologist. Pancreatic cancer cases detected after the onset of symptoms may not be operable, and radiation therapy may be your best option to contain the spread of cancer cells.
7. Give serious consideration to chemotherapy as a supplementary treatment alongside surgery or radiation therapy. Using drugs to treat cancer can improve your chances of survival when used in conjunction with other, more aggressive, treatment options. Chemotherapy also helps relieve secondary symptoms of cancer affliction.
8. Choose to participate in a clinical trial if you have an advanced metastatic case. Conventionally, such cases are only treated using chemotherapy, which only prolongs life and soothes symptoms rather than treats the disease. Clinical trials employ new, sometimes very effective, treatments. Be aware, though, that there is no guarantee of the trial treatment's efficacy, and that unanticipated and potentially dangerous side effects can occur.
9. Get a second opinion. Your primary doctor will not consider this an affront. It's a common and recommended practice when dealing with serious diseases.
10. Be aware that treatment of metastatic cancer of the pancreas will adversely affect your ability to maintain an active lifestyle. Plenty of rest will be required to improve your prognosis.
Tags: about your, aware that, cancer cells, Choose Treatment, Choose Treatment Pancreatic