Which Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Is Best For Me?
Although there are several different treatment options for individuals with pancreatic cancer some of these may be unavailable or downright ineffective in the later stages of this disease. This is because treatment for this type of cancer varies depending on not only the stage of the disease but also the size of the tumor as well as the age and general health of the person being treated.
One such pancreatic cancer treatment that is not usually offered to individuals experiencing the later stages of pancreatic cancer is surgery.
The primary target of any type of cancer treatment is to remove the cancer. However in some cases such as that of advanced pancreatic cancer this may not be possible due to the advancement of the disease. When the cancer becomes so far advanced that surgery is no longer an alternative the focus then shifts on stopping the cancer or at the very least keeping it from spreading any further or causing any additional damage. In cases where the stage of cancer is so advanced that treatments aren’t likely to help much then steps are usually taken to treat individual symptoms and make the individual as comfortable as possible.
Although surgery is in some cases an option there are actually very few cases when it is possible to remove all of the cancer through this method. In cases that are advanced to the point where cancer has spread beyond the pancreas surgery is usually no longer offered as a method of pancreatic cancer treatment.
In the cases where surgery is offered there are generally two types of surgery that may be used. These two types include pancreatoduodenectomy and distal pancreatectomy.
A pancreatoduodenectomy is a surgical pancreatic cancer treatment that may be performed if the cancer is located in the head of the pancreas. This is often referred to as a Whipple surgery. This consists of removing the pancreas head as well as the gall bladder, and parts of the small intestine and bile duct. In some cases part of your stomach may also be removed. This surgery also poses certain risks such as bleeding, infection, temporary diabetes, nausea and vomiting.
A distal pancreatectomy is often used when tumors are located in the tail or body of the pancreas. In this procedure the tail and a small part of the body of the pancreas is removed and in some cases the spleen is also removed.
Radiation therapy is a type of treatment that may be offered when surgery is not possible. In addition radiation therapy may also be used in combination with surgery in some cases.
Chemotherapy is a treatment option in which drugs are used to destroy cancer cells and prevent them from dividing or separating. It may consist of one drug or several and may be taken orally or intravenously.
In some cases pancreatic cancer treatment may include all of these options over the course of complete treatment. Which treatment is used is determined by how advanced an individual person’s cancer may be.
