Pancreatic

Many international patients are put off by the high prices in Europe and the US and are traveling to India to get the same treatment at vastly reduced cost of 60% or more. The benefits of doing this are huge. Price advantage is a major selling point. The slogan thus is, “First World treatment’ at Third World prices”. Cancer surgeries in Western countries cost three to four times as much as in India.  If you have never considered India for pancreatic cancer surgery; now is the time to start. The advantages make total sense – and the quality of the surgery is comparable with any hospital in Europe or the US. Price hospitals of pancreatic cancer surgery in India at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad are providing special assistance to international patients who are coming to india for their pancreatic cancer surgery.

 

The Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland located deep in the abdomen between the stomach and the spine (backbone). The liver, intestine, and other organs surround the pancreas. The pancreas is about 6 inches long and is shaped like a flat pear. The widest part of the pancreas is the head, the middle section is the body, and the thinnest part is the tail. The pancreas makes insulin and other hormones. These hormones enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body. They help the body use or store the energy that comes from food. For example, insulin helps control the amount of sugar in the blood.

Understanding Cancer

Cancer is a group of many related diseases. All cancers begin in cells, the body’s basic unit of life. Cells make up tissues, and tissues make up the organs of the body. Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old and die, new cells take their place. Sometimes this orderly process breaks down. New cells form when the body does not need them, or old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor.

Symptoms

Pancreatic cancer is sometimes called a “silent disease” because early pancreatic cancer often does not cause symptoms. But, as the cancer grows, symptoms may include:  Pain in the upper abdomen or upper back, Yellow skin and eyes, and dark urine from jaundice, Weakness, Loss of appetite, Nausea and vomiting, Weight loss. These symptoms are not sure signs of pancreatic cancer. An infection or other problem could also cause these symptoms. Only a doctor can diagnose the cause of a person’s symptoms. Anyone with these symptoms should see a doctor so that the doctor can treat any problem as early as possible

 

Pancreatic Cancer: Who’s at Risk?

No one knows the exact causes of pancreatic cancer. Doctors can seldom explain why one person gets pancreatic cancer and another does not. However, it is clear that this disease is not contagious. No one can “catch” cancer from another person.

Studies have found the following risk factors:

 Age — The likelihood of developing pancreatic cancer increases with age. Most pancreatic cancers occur in people over the age of 60.

Smoking — Cigarette smokers are two or three times more likely than nonsmokers to develop pancreatic cancer.

Diabetes — Pancreatic cancer occurs more often in people who have diabetes than in people who do not.

Being male — More men than women are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Being African American — African Americans are more likely than Asians, Hispanics, or whites to get pancreatic cancer.

Family history — The risk for developing pancreatic cancer triples if a person’s mother, father, sister, or brother had the disease. Also, a family history of colon or ovarian cancer increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Chronic pancreatitis — Chronic pancreatitis is a painful condition of the pancreas. Some evidence suggests that chronic pancreatitis may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.

 

Pancreatic cancer surgery in India is in high demand by the US patients due to availability of world class cancer surgeons at very low cost with international medical healthcare facilities. Pancreatic Surgery in India brings patients from US and Europe to the country. The demand for cheap and efficient healthcare is drawing medical tourists from western countries to India for their surgeries. Desperate Americans, Canadians and British tourists lead the way for the growing medical tourism industry in India. Surgical procedures in India are charged at a mere fraction of the price for the same surgeries in the USA, making it much easier for uninsured families to manage expensive medical bills. . In fact, Indian doctors are considered to be among the best in the world and their high level of surgical expertise evolves from many years of training – after studying in India many doctors train and work in the UK and USA. The Healthcare Facilities in India are the most cost-effective in the world with private hospitals offering treatment at a fraction of the price of those in the USA, UK and Canada.

Read more

Pancreatic cancer: Malignancy of the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer has been called a “silent” disease because early pancreatic cancer usually does not cause symptoms. If the tumor blocks the common bile duct and bile cannot pass into the digestive system, the skin and whites of the eyes may become yellow (jaundiced), and the urine darker as a result of accumulated bile pigment called bilirubin.

Pancreatic Cancer Causes

The exact as to what damages DNA in the vast majority of cases of pancreatic cancer is not clear. In other words the exact pancreatic cancer causes are not clear. But it is known that a small percentage of people develop the disease as a result of a genetic predisposition. These people who have a close relative, such as a parent or sibling, with pancreatic cancer have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer themselves.

Age: is also a factor to be considered which increases the incidence of the disease. As age increases the probability of pancreatic cancer also increases. The incidence of Pancreatic Cancer is relatively low in individuals up to age 50, after which it increases significantly. The age group 65 – 79 has the highest incidence of Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms

In many cases, pancreatic cancer symptoms do not occur until the advanced stages. When pancreatic cancer symptoms do occur, they are often ignored because they are so vague and nonspecific. The first pancreatic cancer symptoms are usually pain in the abdomen and weight loss. Additional pancreatic cancer symptoms to look for include jaundice, fatigue, dizziness, weakness, diarrhea, chills, and muscle spasms.

Many of these pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of a less serious ailment. However, only a doctor can accurately diagnosis whether or not your pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of cancer.

Pain

Pancreatic cancer can cause pain and discomfort in your upper abdomen, which sometimes spreads to your back. At first, the pain may come and go, but as the cancer becomes larger, and more advanced, you may find that the pain is more constant, and lasts for longer.

The pain pancreatic cancer causes is often worse when you are lying down or eating. This type of pain tends to affect people whose tumour has formed in either the body or tail of the pancreas.

Pancreatic Cancer Treatment:

This cancer is difficult to diagnose because there are no symptoms in the early stages and because , when symptoms appear, they match other diseases. Depending on the stage and location of the cancer, surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy may be used. If the cancer has not spread beyond the pancreas, therapy can be successful, but, as stated earlier, it’s very unlikely to find pancreatic cancer in the early stages. In later stages, often the therapy concentrates on the comfort of the patient.

Obstruction of bile flow may be temporarily relieved by placement of a tube (stent) in the lower portion of the duct that drains bile from the liver and gallbladder. In most cases, however, the tumor eventually obstructs the duct above and below the stent. An alternative treatment method is the surgical creation of a channel that bypasses the obstruction. For example, an obstruction of the small intestine can be bypassed by a channel that connects the stomach with a portion of the small intestine that is beyond the obstruction.

Read more

Pancreatic cancer is currently the fifth most common form of cancer in the United States and is diagnosed in around 40,000 Americans each year. In most cases pancreatic cancer has an extremely poor survival outcome. Just 1 in 20 people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will still be alive after five years.

The main reason pancreatic cancer has such a poor survival outcome is that the majority of cases are diagnosed when the cancer is at a very late stage. This is due to the non-specific symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer in its early stages. Early warning signs of pancreatic cancer include pain in the upper abdomen, jaundice, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

There are several risk factors that are known to affect an individuals probability of developing pancreatic cancer. While some of these cannot be changed, several can be influenced by sensible lifestyle and diet modifications.

Here are eleven of the more established risk factors for pancreatic cancer.

Age: The incidence of pancreatic cancer increases dramatically with age. Pancreatic cancer is extremely rare in people under the age of 50 with under 5% of all cases being diagnosed in this age bracket. Three-quarters of all cases of pancreatic cancer occur in people over the age of sixty.

Gender: As is the case with most other forms of cancer, males are around 10% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than females.

Race: African Americans are 50% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer in their lifetimes than Caucasians. Native Hawaiians and New Zealand Maoris also have relatively high rates of pancreatic cancer.

Obesity: People who are overweight, and in particular those who carry a large amount of abdominal fat are at a greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Diabetes: People who have been diagnosed with diabetes are slightly more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.

Family History: It is thought that around 10% of pancreatic cancers are inherited. A first degree relative who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer increases your chances of developing the disease three-fold.

Smoking: Heavy smokers who have been smoking for at least twenty years are at almost twice the risk of developing pancreatic cancer as non-smokers. Former smokers, light smokers, and tobacco chewers are also at a greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Diet: A fatty diet, a diet high in red or processed meat, a high cholesterol diet, and a diet lacking in fresh fruit and vegetables are all thought to be linked to an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Physical Inactivity: People who engage in physical exercise less than once a week are at a significantly higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those who exercise three or more times a week.

Exposure To Carcinogens: Exposure to certain carcinogenic chemicals such as pesticides, dyes, cadmium, nickel, chromium, and asbestos dust may increase a persons chances of developing pancreatic cancer.

Alcohol Consumption The evidence for a link between pancreatic cancer and alcohol is mixed. Heavy drinking can cause pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) which has been linked to pancreatic cancer.

Read more

Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas, a large organ that lies horizontally behind the lower part of the stomach. Pancreatic cancer occurs most commonly in men between the ages of 35 and 70, it is the fourth most common cause of cancer mortality (behind lung cancer, colorectal cancer and breast cancer). Pancreatic cancer is usually an adenocarcinoma and it usually arises from the pancreatic duct cells which make up the major part of the pancreas.


Cause of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is caused by damage to genes, but it is not known exactly why this damage happens. Evidence suggests that it is linked to exposure to carcinogens such as; cigarettes, food high in fat and protein and food additives. Possible predisposing factors are chronic pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus and chronic alcohol abuse.


There is some evidence that people who don’t eat many fresh vegetables and fruits are more at risk from pancreatic cancer. Being overweight may cause a small increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer. Some industrial chemicals called chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents have been linked to pancreatic cancer, although they are unlikely to be a major factor. Other chemicals and exposures that have been linked to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in some studies include pesticides, radiation, nickel, chromium and iron.


The average age of onset of pancreatic cancer is between 70 to 80 but heavy smokers and heavy drinkers present with pancreatic cancer an average of seven to 10 years earlier than the rest of the population.


Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer

The most common are weight loss, abdominal or low back pain, jaundice and diarrhea.

Other more general effects include; fever, skin lesions, depression, anxiety and a premonition of impending death. Ascites ( fluid retention in the abdomen ) can be a sign of pancreatic tumors.


Diagnosis

It is very difficult to diagnose pancreatic cancer as the pancreas is so deep within the body and symptoms vary depending on the exact location of the tumor in the pancreas and which cells or function of the pancreas is affected by the tumour or cancer. Unfortunately the symptoms of pancreatic cancer can also be quite vague and non specific and may be caused by many other more common and less serious conditions.


Pancreatic cancer typically spreads rapidly and is seldom detected in its early stages, which is a major reason why it is a leading cause of cancer death. Pancreatic cancer specialists believe that anyone over 50 who develops diabetes and has unexplained weight loss should be investigated for other pancreatic disease. Courvoisier sign defines the presence of jaundice and a painlessly distended gallbladder as strongly indicative of pancreatic cancer and may be used to distinguish pancreatic cancer from gallstones.


Treatment

Treatment for pancreatic cancer depends on the stage and location of the cancer as well as on your age, overall health and personal preferences. The first goal of pancreatic cancer treatment is to eliminate the cancer, when possible. When that isn’t an option, the focus may be on preventing the pancreatic cancer from growing or causing more harm. Pancreatic cancer is relatively resistant to medical treatment and the only potentially curative treatment is surgery. Radiation therapy for pancreatic cancer can palliate pain but does not affect the patients survival.


Gemcitabine was approved by the US FDA in 1998 after a clinical trial reported improvements in quality of life in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Management of pain and other symptoms is an important part of the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.


Prognosis

Pancreatic cancer often has a poor prognosis, even when diagnosed early and the median survival period from the time of diagnosis until demise is arguably the worst of any of the cancers. The best predictors of long term survival after surgery are a tumor diameter of less than 3 cm, no nodal involvement, negative resection margins, and diploid tumor DNA content.


Due to difficulties in diagnosis, the aggressive nature of pancreatic cancer and the limited systemic treatments available, the five-year survival rate for patients who have pancreatic adenocarcinoma is only about 5%. For pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed completely with surgery, or cancer that has spread beyond the pancreas, cure is not currently possible and the average survival is usually less than 1 year.

Read more