Pancreatic Cancer
By: Brooklyn Baez
How many affected a year
This year, an estimated 53,070 adults (27,670 men and 25,400 women) in the United States will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It is estimated that 41,780 deaths (21,450 men and 20,330 women) from this disease will occur this year.
Cause
Scientists don't know exactly what causes most pancreatic cancers, but they have found several risk factors that can make a person more likely to get this disease. Some of these risk factors affect the DNA of cells in the pancreas, which can result in abnormal cell growth and may cause tumors to form
Risks
- Age (close to 90 percent of all pancreatic cancers are found in people age 55 and older)
- Gender: For an unknown reason, men are somewhat more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than are women.
- Obesity.
- Diabetes.
- Chronic pancreatitis.
- Cirrhosis of the liver.
- Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection
Symtoms
Pain areas: in the abdomen or middle back
Gastrointestinal: fluid in the abdomen or nausea
Whole body: fatigue or loss of appetite
Also common: dark urine, weight loss, or yellow skin and eyes
How is it diagnosed
Diagnosed primarily through the use of computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), laparoscopy and biopsy.
Survival Rate
70 out of 100 people who have that cancer are still alive 5 years after being diagnosed. Most people live much longer than 5 years.