If you've been diagnosed with pancreas cancer, you'll probably feel many different emotions, including anxiety about what lies ahead.

By the time most people find out they have pancreas cancer, it has spread elsewhere in their body and cannot be cured. But there are treatments that can improve your symptoms and may help you live longer. And if your disease is caught in the early stages, you may be able to have surgery to remove the cancer.

The treatment you have will depend on what part of your

 

 

 

 

 

pancreas
Your pancreas is an organ that's behind your stomach. It makes several different chemicals. Some of the chemicals help your body digest food. Your pancreas also makes a chemical called insulin, which helps your body use the sugar in your blood.

 

 

 

 

 

pancreas is affected, how large the cancer is, and whether it has spread. A lot will also depend on how you feel about your illness and how you would like it to be treated.

There's no right or wrong way for you to deal with your cancer. Some people have treatments that may help them live longer but which could have serious side effects. Other people choose not to have these treatments, which means they may not live as long. They prefer to avoid the risk of serious side effects.

The most important thing is for you to feel comfortable with the decisions you make. Your medical team and those who care about you should listen to what you say and respect your wishes.

Your pancreas lies just behind your stomach. It's a gland that helps you break down the food you eat. It also helps you use or store the energy you get from food.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Cancer Institute.
What you need to know about cancer of the pancreas.
September 2002. Available at http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/pancreas (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The Sol Goodman pancreatic cancer research center.
Available at http://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/ (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

Your pancreas is part of your digestive system. This is the name given to the parts of your body that break down the food you eat. These parts of your body may be affected by your cancer and by any surgery you have.

See More about your digestive system.

Your pancreas does two important jobs.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Cancer Institute.
What you need to know about cancer of the pancreas.
September 2002. Available at http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/pancreas (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

The pancreas has different kinds of cells to do these two jobs. Pancreas cancer usually starts in the cells that make pancreatic juices.

See More about your pancreas and bile duct.

When your body's cells are healthy, they grow and divide to form new cells as your body needs them. When cells grow old and die, new cells take their place.

Sometimes this process breaks down. New cells form too rapidly, when the body doesn't need them, and old cells don't die when they should. The extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Cancer Institute.
What you need to know about cancer of the pancreas.
September 2002. Available at http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/pancreas (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

Pancreas cancer often starts in the head of the pancreas.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Bornman PC, Beckingham IJ.
ABC of diseases of liver, pancreas, and biliary system: pancreatic tumours.
BMJ. 2001; 322: 721-723.

 

 

 

 

 

³ The tumor may block one or more of the tubes (ducts) in or around your pancreas. It may also spread to other parts of your pancreas or your intestines.

Cancer spreads when some cancer cells break away from the main tumor. The extra cells can spread directly to nerves, muscles or blood vessels around your pancreas. Or the cancer could spread to nearby parts of your digestive system.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Cancer Institute.
What you need to know about cancer of the pancreas.
September 2002. Available at http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/pancreas (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The Sol Goodman pancreatic cancer research center.
Available at http://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/ (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

Some cancer cells may reach more distant parts of your body, such as your liver, intestines, lungs and bones.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Cancer Institute.
What you need to know about cancer of the pancreas.
September 2002. Available at http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/pancreas (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The Sol Goodman pancreatic cancer research center.
Available at http://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/ (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

Cancer cells can travel through your bloodstream or through your

 

 

 

 

 

lymphatic system
The lymphatic system is the body's way of clearing and cleaning unwanted materials from the blood and tissues. It includes an interconnected network of lymph nodes that filter these materials to see if there is an infection that will require response by the immune system.

 

 

 

 

 

lymphatic system, a system of tubes that help your body fight infections. And cancer cells can easily get into nearby

 

 

 

 

 

lymph nodes
Lymph nodes (also called glands) are small, bean-shaped lumps that you cannot usually see or easily feel. They are located in various parts of the body, such as the neck, armpit and groin. Lymph nodes filter the lymph fluid and remove unusual things, such as bacteria and cancer cells.

 

 

 

 

 

lymph nodes. From here they can travel to other parts of the body.

When cancer spreads from its original place to another part of the body, this is called a metastasis. The new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the original tumor. For example, if pancreas cancer spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are pancreas cancer cells. The disease is still pancreas cancer, not liver cancer.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Cancer Institute.
What you need to know about cancer of the pancreas.
September 2002. Available at http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/pancreas (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

No one knows the exact cause of pancreas cancer. Doctors can't explain why some people get it and others don't. They think that chance plays a part. But there are some things that make it more likely that someone will get pancreas cancer. These are called risk factors. They include smoking and being older. And if someone else in your family has or had pancreas cancer or certain other types of cancer, you may be more likely to get pancreas cancer.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Cancer Institute.
What you need to know about cancer of the pancreas.
September 2002. Available at http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/pancreas (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The Sol Goodman pancreatic cancer research center.
Available at http://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/ (accessed on 17 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

To learn more, see Risk factors for pancreas cancer.

If you smoke heavily, you're significantly more likely to get pancreas cancer than someone who doesn't smoke. Smoking is one risk factor you can do something about. To learn more, see our articles on Smoking.

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