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Pancreatic Cancer
November 20, 2008 |
Each year roughly 40,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer are diagnosed in the United
States.
“Our typical patient is an older patient, usually over the age of 60, 65. They tend
to not have a lot of medical problems. Most of the patients that I’ve had who have
had pancreatic cancer have been very active, healthy individuals who all of a sudden
came up with this problem,” says oncologist Dr. Fransisco Rodriguez.
Patients are diagnosed with pancreatic or exocrine cancer when malignant cells are
found throughout the tissues of the pancreas. “It’s really important for people
to really understand what the problem is and I like to say you define the problem
as clearly as possible, what is a diagnosis, what is the stage, what is the intent
of therapy and how we get to that intent of therapy the easiest way, says Dr. Rodriguez.
While it is considered to be one of the most dangerous forms of cancer, there is lots of new research into the cause and treatment of the disease. Dr. Rodriguez
says, “Every little benefit would be a huge benefit in pancreatic cancer there’s
a lot of interest by pharmaceutical companies to really get into it and explore
that area. It’s a very hot area for research.”
Because each finding is so important many oncologists encourage patients to participate
in clinical trials that involve different types of treatment and medication. To
learn more about clinical trials you can log onto www.cancer.gov. |
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