What Is Pancreatic Cancer?

By james

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The pancreas is an organ that is a part of the digestive system. It is roughly pear shaped and is around 6 inches long. One of its functions is to secrete enzymes that help us digest our food. It also secretes insulin, which is needed to help us process sugar in our body.

Cancers can affect all of our body parts, and pancreatic cancer is no different. Although we are able to survive without a pancreas with help from medicine, pancreatic cancer will spread to other essential organs also. Pancreatic cancer is especially difficult to treat, and survival rates are very low.

1. Pancreatic Cancer

As with so many other parts of the body, the pancreas can develop different types of growth. Some of these can be cancerous. When they do cause cancer, the most common type is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. This type affects the cells in tubes that allow digestive enzymes to pass out of the organ.

As is the case with other types of cancer, pancreatic cancer is easier to treat the sooner it is diagnosed. However, pancreatic cancer tends not to cause any symptoms in the early stages, meaning it will often go missed until the cancer has progressed. This makes it one of the more dangerous types of cancer, with a fatality rate of approximately 95%.