Most people with pancreas cancer find out they have it when the disease is at a late stage. It's too late to have surgery because the tumor is too large or because it has spread too much.

To learn more, see Stages of pancreas cancer.

For many people, the treatments for pancreas cancer don't work as well as they do for other types of cancer. There are striking success stories, and some people do live for many years after they discover they have pancreas cancer, but most don't.

Everyone has different priorities in their life. Wherever possible, your treatment should help you get what you want out of life. You may wish to spend time with friends or family, or you may want to stay as active or independent as possible.

Cancer specialists often don't talk about treatments that cure you because it's difficult to say when there has been a cure. Doctors may see no sign of cancer, but they can't be sure that it will not come back. Instead they look at the number of people who live two, three, five or 10 years after their treatment. Doctors call these numbers survival rates.

You may hear your doctors use other words that measure the success of treatments for pancreas cancer. Here's what they mean:

A lot of the treatments that are used for pancreas cancer are not trying to cure the cancer. They aim to slow the growth of your cancer, help your symptoms and make you feel better, and allow you to live as long as possible.

If you have pancreas cancer, you may want to know more about what will happen to you, or you may not. Some people would rather not know this information. We've provided statistics on how many people with pancreas cancer are still alive one and five years after diagnosis. If you read this information, remember that the figures are based on the results seen with large groups of patients. They cannot predict what will happen to you individually. Other things, such as your overall health and when your pancreas cancer was diagnosed, will affect what happens to you.

Living with a serious disease like pancreas cancer isn't easy. You may have all kinds of worries, whether about hospital bills, pain, medication side effects or your future. But there are many people who can help you.

To find out more, see Getting support to help you cope.

Many doctors encourage patients with pancreas cancer to take part in clinical trials. These are research studies of new treatments in which patients can volunteer to take part.

Studies may look at new drugs and different combinations of treatments. They may also include experimental cancer vaccines to help your immune system fight off cancer. If you're interested, ask your doctor about clinical trials in your area. You can also search the National Cancer Institute's database of trials.

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