Pancreatic cancer has no established causes

Though no clear cause of the disease has been established, but certain predisposing factors exist. These include smoking, ethnicity, old age and diabetics. Men are also more predisposed to being inflicted by the malady than women.

CJ: Vyasamoorthy

Thu, Nov 05, 2009 16:16:09 IST

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Cancer Research News :

THE AMERICAN actor, singer and dancer Patrick Swayze, died of Pancreatic cancer in September this year. This celebrity's death brought about a lot of awareness and in that way he has done a lot of good.

November is the month devoted to creating awareness among public about this special type of cancer. Knowing about this deadly form of cancer may help people get an early diagnosis and chances of living longer may be possible.

Nearly 47,000 people suffer from pancreatic cancer in the USA alone. The chances of living for about five years after the diagnosis are just five per cent. Most patients die within a year. In India the pancreatic cancer affected were 17000 in 2008. This figure is likely to go up as the ageing population is increasing year after year.

The diagnosis is generally delayed for long as most of the symptoms are common place. Pain in the abdomen, especially in the upper region, back pain, yellowing of skin or eyes, loss of weight, loss of appetite, mental depression are common symptoms. Unfortunately these symptoms can be taken lightly. Hence, when actual diagnosis is made, the cancer has reached a fairly advanced stage (fourth stage which is terminal) and very little can be done. Even surgery may be impractical and useless.

There is no in which this cancer can be prevented, though certain precautions can be taken. These include avoiding cigarettes, alcohol, maintaining good healthy weight, nutritious food and warding off diabetes.

Recently, a study of some 80000 persons in 2006 was carried out to discern more information about pancreatic cancer, but it failed to show any definitive correlation. As such, there is no cure. Only palliative procedures like Radiation therapy, Chemotherapy and surgical interventions are carried out to extend the lifetime of the patient, or in cases where this is not possible, to improve their quality of life.

These do leave the patients with a number of side effects. For instance, in chemotherapy certain drugs are injected via the veins. The patient suffers headache, nausea, fever, severe pain in the abdomen, loss of hair etc. Diarrhoea, constipation, sore throat or ulcers in mouth or bone pain may also be present. When the patient recovers somewhat and feels just about normal another cycle of Chemotherapy is advised. The pain and suffering continue in cycles. Most pain relieving drugs have limited benefit.

Moreover, in India we lack palliative care mechanisms, hospices and trained care givers.

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	You are so wrong with your headline. Cigarette smoking as well as chewing of tobacco have been established as possible causes of pancreatic cancer. Please see the following volumes of evaluations by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a part of the World Health Organisation International Agency for Research on Cancer: IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Humans. Vol. 83. Tobacco Smoke and Involuntary Smoking. Lyon. International Agency for Research on Cancer 2004.International Agency for Research on Cancer: IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Humans. Vol. 89. Smokeless Tobacco and some Tobacco-specific Nitrosamines. Lyon. International Agency for Research on Cancer 2007.
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