Pancreas Cancer Life Expectancy: Not What It Should Be
The pancreas is an organ that helps the digestive and endocrine system, so it is one of the most important organs in our body. It excretes the digestive enzymes and insulin that we need, to process our nutrients. Tumors can grow in the pancreas, but that doesn’t mean that every tumor is cancerous. When a tumor secretes hormones then it is a functioning tumor. It does mean that cancerous cells are very dangerous when they grow in the pancreas, and the life expectancy is not very good. Both tumors can be a problem, but the cancerous tumors are life threatening. Unfortunately, pancreas cancer life expectancy is very low, and as yet there is not much we can do about it.
There has been a lot of research done into pancreatic cancer, and researchers are trying to improve survival rates in this terrible disease, but there is not much luck.
The survival rates for malignant tumors of the pancreas are low, and yet, so much research has taken place to try to find a way to improve survival rates and increase life expectancy. Clinical trial drugs, such as Bevacizumab, have been created to help block tumor growth in various ways. One way is that it may prevent growth by stopping blood flow to the tumor itself.
According to the American Cancer Society only 20% of patients who suffer from pancreatic cancer survive past the first year, and of those only 4% survive past five years.
The reason for such a low pancreas cancer life expectancy is because this type of cancer is very difficult to diagnose. The symptoms are so similar to other diseases, that it is often confused with other types of diseases.
When Is Pancreatic Cancer Likely to Occur
Pancreatic cancer usually occurs in people over the age of 50 and is more common and the risks of acquiring it increase as a person ages. Besides this, there are several things that increase your risk of acquiring pancreas cancer and which also affect your survival rate.
• There is no scientific proof, but in countries like Japan that comsume less meat there are fewer incidences of pancreatic cancer.
• People who have smoked in their lifetime are twice as likely to have pancreatic cancer, as those who have never smoked
• Pancreas Cancer life expectancy severely decreases if the cancer is a secondary malignancy. For example, if a person smokes and has a first malignancy in another part of their body and then pancreatic cancer is found. They have a diminished life expectancy.
• People who work in sawmills, metal shops, mines, dry cleaning shops, electrical shops have a higher risk of acquiring pancreas cancer.
The medical field continues to research medications and procedures which could increase pancreas cancer life expectancy, but as yet there have been no real breakthroughs.
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