Pancreatic cancer is one of the 10 most common cancers. When this diagnosis is made, treatment should be started immediately.
Treatment for symptoms of this disease depends on the stage of development of the process.
Surgical intervention involves resection of the pancreatic head with a tumor, part of the stomach, bile duct and part of the small intestine, but this is only possible if the formation has not affected the proximate organs.
An operation is possible in which only the body of the organ is removed and its head remains in place, but this is only possible in isolated cases.
Follow-up treatment after surgery involves the introduction of chemicals( chemotherapy).Also, specialists eliminate the symptoms of the disease, it is pain and jaundice.
To reduce morbidity after surgery, medics use pain medications and radiotherapy. And jaundice can be cured with endoscopic stenting or surgery.
Treatment of pancreatic head tumor
Doctors believe that surgery is the only method of getting rid of cancer, which will give at least some hope to the patient, but with metastases in this part of the pancreas other methods of treatment can be used.
If the process is in the first stage and localized in the head of the organ, then the tumor size does not exceed 2 cm. In this condition, pancreaticoduodenectomy is possible. After this procedure, the patient is prescribed 6 courses of chemotherapy with fluorouracil or Gemzar.
When the neoplasm passes into the second stage of development, more serious medical intervention is already needed. This is due to metastases that spread to the vessels, affect lymph nodes, surrounding nerves and tissues of neighboring organs.
Together with the treatment of cancer of the head of the pancreas, physicians need to eliminate the symptoms of the manifestation of the disease. For this, the patient is prescribed pain medication and eliminates jaundice. To eliminate jaundice, endoscopic stent placement is performed. Thus, bile is excreted without disturbance.
How to treat pancreatic cancer?
All methods of getting rid of this disease boil down to one thing - it's a surgical intervention.
If the tumor is resectable( can be removed), then the Whipple method is used. This technique involves removing the head of the organ, small intestine and part of the stomach. It is also possible to remove other organs that are affected by metastases.
The following technique, common in medicine, is pancreatectomy. This method allows you to save the head of the organ, but remove its body and tail. But this method is possible only in the case when metastases do not affect the head of the pancreas, and this happens extremely rarely.
Carrying out the operation is always accompanied by drug treatment, and for this, chemotherapy or radiation therapy is performed. This allows to slow the development of cancer and increase the chances of the patient recovering.
In addition to the above methods, modern medical institutions use such methods to get rid of pancreatic cancer, such as freezing a tumor, removing the affected area with a nano knife, destroying the formation of microwaves, and radio frequency treatment.
All methods have already proved their effectiveness and are actively used in the treatment of this disease.
Where is pancreatic cancer treated?
Pancreatic cancer is very difficult to diagnose in the early stages of the disease. Therefore, for the analysis and examination of patients with suspicion, the tumor is sent to special oncological dispensaries, where there is the necessary equipment and specialists.
Oncological dispensaries treat a pancreatic tumor that involves surgery and subsequent chemotherapy. It is also carried out by many private clinics, both in Russia and abroad.
Than to treat pancreatic cancer?
Treatment for pancreatic cancer directly depends on what stage of development it is.
When a surgical method is used, doctors prescribe chemotherapy to the patient. This is necessary in order to slow the development of cancer or to prevent its recurrence.
Conducting chemotherapy involves taking anti-cancer drugs, the effect of which extends to the entire body. To do this, use 5-fluorouracil or gemcitabine. These drugs are administered intravenously with a regular visit to a medical facility.
When the tumor struck internal organs, and to perform the operation does not make sense, then all actions are aimed at facilitating the patient's condition, rather than prolonging his life. In this case, the following drugs are used:
- morphine and other potent substances that have an analgesic effect;
- antidepressants to alleviate mental suffering to the patient.
When prescribing any medication and carrying out therapy, the doctor must weigh the possible harm from taking the medications and the benefits that they will bring to the patient.
Is it possible to cure pancreatic cancer?
The prognosis for the cure of this disease is conditionally unfavorable. The fact is that the operational mortality rate is 15%.After surgical intervention, the survival rate of patients, patients is 10%.
If the tumor has metastasized to other organs, has affected the vessels or nerves, then its complete removal is impossible, and this condition of the patient always causes a relapse of the disease.
If you perform an operation, such patients live 3-4 times longer than people who did not undergo surgery.
Unfortunately, medicine at its current level of development does not completely cure this disease, therefore, in general, specialists eliminate the symptoms of the manifestation of the disease.
After completing the full course of treatment, the average 5-year survival rate of patients is about 9%.
Are there cases of cure for pancreatic cancer?
Among the causes of mortality, pancreatic cancer is on the 4th place. Such a danger of this disease is due to the fact that it is very difficult to diagnose it in the early stages, and in the late stages the disease does not respond to treatment.
So, patients who have cured pancreatic cancer live for another 5 years in about 9% of cases. If the disease was diagnosed at an early stage, then this percentage increases to a figure of 26.
It is very difficult to say whether the patient will survive after a full course of treatment or not. Experts make a forecast for each person separately, and many factors influence its favorability.