Cancer of the pancreas may not be the most common kind of cancer these days but all the same, it is still a deadly disease. What makes it fatal is its stealth. This means that it is not usually detected in its earlier stages, comes quietly, and surprises the body.
Pancreatic cancer survival rate is high given appropriate and timely diagnosis and treatment. Its symptoms are associated with fatigue, jaundice or yellowish discoloration of the skin and eyes, severe abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, and diarrhea. Problems in digestion or indigestions problems are also some of the most significant signs of pancreatic cancer.
In order to confirm the presence of such cancer in the body, important tests have to be done. This includes abdominal MRI, biopsy, ultrasound, CT scan, laboratory exams, and many others. Once diagnosed treatment must immediately begin. Its array of treatment involves chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, medications, surgery, nutritional therapy, and many more options.
Pancreatic cancer survival rate statistics is referred to the 5 year period. This actually refers to the population or percentage of pancreatic cancer patients who are still alive for a period of five years immediately after diagnosis and treatment. This rate includes pancreatic cancer patients who are free from the disease and those with only a few symptoms who are receiving timely treatments.
It has been noted that during diagnosis, the cancer is often already in the end stage wherein treatment may no longer work and pancreatic cancer survival rate is already very low. Thereby, life expectancy of cancer of the pancreas greatly depends how early cancer was discovered and then treated.
If pancreatic cancer is detected on stage one then there is a higher survival rate. If diagnosed as stage two and if tumors are removed there is a bigger chance that the patient can get past the five year survival period. Those diagnosed as stage three and four have lower rates of survival.