How Can We Treat Pancreatic Cancer

Individualized Treatment Plan

Treatment of pancreatic cancer usually depends on the extent of disease. If you have pancreatic cancer in its initial stages, then your treatment protocol will be different from the person who has last stage pancreatic cancer. Treatment plans are designed for each individual separately because of the stage of cancer, overall health of the patient and the nature of the tumor. It helps in treating the specific situation of a patient. Individualized treatment plans for pancreatic cancer helps to increase the response of treatment and to lower the chances of side effects.

Collaborative Approach

In the management of pancreatic cancer, it is important to involve the team of healthcare providers. The team for the treatment of pancreatic cancer should involve medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, and more. The expert from each department helps in evaluating the condition of each patient and is less likely to ignore the important details related to the disease.

Clinical Trials

The healthcare providers now perform different tests on your tumor in order to gain the information about the nature of your tumor. This information helps the providers to make decisions according to your condition and make treatment plans accordingly.

Supportive Care

Treating a disease does not only mean to treat the part of disease only. But nowadays the treatment approach should involve physical and psychological care regarding the disease in which you will be treated as a whole and the psychological effect of your disease should be treated as well. For this, family counseling, physical therapy, pain management and support groups are here to help you in every way possible.

Types of Treatments for Pancreatic Cancer

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses drugs to limit the growth of your cancer cells. It can be taken by mouth or by the injections that run in blood and kill any cancer cell found in your body. 

Targeted Drug Therapy

These drugs attack the cancer cell environment in which they grow and kill them. 

Radiation Therapy 

The radiations of x-rays are used to kill the cancer cells by any external or internal source. External radiation therapy involves a machine outside the body that throws a beam of x-rays on a tumor through the skin. But in internal radiation therapy or BRACHYTHERAPY, the radioactive material is placed at the tumor site.

Palliative Therapy

When your cancer becomes widespread and is unable to be treated. Palliative care is used to control the symptoms experienced by the patient. It could be a surgery for you like a biliary bypass or gastric bypass that opens the block ducts or it could be a medicine for the pain.

Surgery

some surgical procedures can also be used:

Whipple procedure: in this, your bile duct, the head of the pancreas, the gallbladder, a portion of the stomach, and the small intestine are all removed. 

Total pancreatectomy: In this surgery, your entire pancreas, a portion of the stomach, a portion of the small intestine, the common bile duct, the gallbladder, the spleen, and adjacent lymph nodes are removed.

Distal pancreatectomy: It is a surgery to remove both the pancreas' body and tail. If cancer has gone to the spleen, then it may also need to be removed.

Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer by Stage

Stage 0

In this stage, the cancer cells are present in only the layer of the outer pancreas and cannot be diagnosed at this stage with different imaging tests.

Treatment in this stage

The most common treatment in this stage is surgery.

In surgery, your part of the pancreas in which cancer cells are present is completely removed. The remaining portion then performs the function of the pancreas. The goal of the treatment in this stage is to completely remove the cancer from the body.

Stage I

In this stage, growth of your pancreatic tumor is limited to the pancreas. In this stage, the tumor size is less than 4 cm.

In this stage, surgery is performed which is followed by the treatment option of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

First, the surgery is performed to remove the tumor from your pancreas. Most common whipple procedure is performed at this stage of pancreatic cancer. But other surgical options can also be considered that depend on your condition and the choice of surgeon. 

After surgery, you will be given the chemotherapy sessions in order to kill any remaining tumor cells in your body that can regrow and form cancer. Apart from that, radiation therapy is also used to shrink the size of your tumor. You will be given radiation therapy for some weeks after the surgery.

Both chemotherapy and radiation therapy after surgery can help to prevent the recurrence of pancreatic cancer.

Stage II

This is the stage where pancreatic tumor can spread outside the pancreas but only at the nearby local areas.
In this stage, chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy is used to treat your pancreatic cancer.

In this stage, surgery is not helpful in treating your pancreatic cancer because the cancer has spread to local areas. So non-surgical treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy are used to treat locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Stage III

This stage has wide spread of tumor cells outside the pancreas. It also involves nearby organs and blood vessels.

In this stage, surgery and radiation therapy are used to treat the symptoms of cancer and chemotherapy is used to treat the pancreatic cancer. 

At this stage, cancer has spread to distant organs and can cause symptoms like pain, discomfort, blockage and vomiting. For the treatment of blockage, surgery can be used but it is not helpful in treating pancreatic cancer. strong Chemotherapy drugs are used at this stage to kill cancer cells in the body. 

Stage IV

In this stage, there is spread of tumor cells from pancreas to many organs in distance.

At this stage, only palliative treatment is given to the patient.

When you are diagnosed with last stage pancreatic cancer, the goal is to improve the quality of life and not to treat the cancer itself. Strong pain killers and medicines to deal with depression are usually common at this stage. Surgery can also be performed at this stage but just for the symptoms relief.

FAQ's of Pancreatic Cancer Treatment 

Can Pancreatic Cancer be Treated?

Yes, pancreatic cancer can be treated, but the success depends on factors like the stage and overall health. Early stages have better treatment responses.

What is the Best Treatment for Pancreatic Disease?

The best treatment for pancreatic cancer depends on the stage. Combination of treatments like Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy can be helpful in treating advanced cancer.

Is Pancreatic Cancer Easy to Treat?

Pancreatic cancer can be challenging to treat especially in advanced stages.

Is Pancreas Surgery a Major Surgery?

Yes, pancreas surgery is a major surgery. It involves removing part of the pancreas and it can affect the process of digestion and other functions of pancreas.

Can I Recover From Pancreatic Cancer?

Early detection, effective treatment, and a positive outlook increase the chances of recovery, but it is important to work closely with doctors and follow their guidance.