When Patrick Swayze lost the battle to pancreatic cancer in 2009, attention was focused on the disease about which little is known.
How common is pancreatic cancer?
It strikes 12 out of every 100,000 annually or about 46,000 Americans, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and occurs nearly twice as often in men as women. Because pancreatic cancer is hard to diagnose and treat, the mortality rate is high, estimated at 39,000 deaths this year.
As the baby boomer generation nears retirement age, the number of people afflicted is expected to rise.
What causes pancreatic cancer?
Like other forms of cancer, pancreatic cancer is caused by mutations in DNA. Genetics, a poor diet and/or smoking may play a role in triggering the mutations. It typically starts in the tissues of the pancreas but may spread to the liver, lymph nodes, and other surrounding areas. As many as 20 different tumors have been found to grow on and around the pancreas. Each is different and may require different treatment.
Where is the pancreas and what does it do?
The pancreas is the large organ behind the lower part of the stomach. It secretes enzymes that aid digestion and hormones that help regulate sugar metabolism.
What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer?
Symptoms usually don’t appear until the disease is advanced, mainly due to the pancreas’s hidden location.
What are the risk factors?
Certain factors put you at increased risk like smoking, obesity, family history, a diet high in animal fat, and a history of chronic inflammation of the pancreas.
Smoking accounts for 25-30 percent of pancreatic cancers. Several studies show that obesity can raise the risk of pancreatic cancer by as much as 60 percent. A British Journal of Cancer study reported that obese women who carry most of their weight around their belly are 70 percent more likely to develop the disease than those whose weight is more evenly distributed.