Pancreatic Cancer Stage 4

Pancreatic Cancer Stage 4: Is There Still Any Hope?

Pancreatic cancer affects almost 42,000 Americans each year, and it is the fourth leading cause of deaths by cancer in the States. Pancreatic Cancer may be of two types: cancer originates in the pancreatic duct, which is responsible for carrying pancreatic juice to the intestines.

Also known as pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, this is usually cancer of the exocrine pancreas. The other type is the pancreatic endocrine cancer characterized by a group of tumors that originate in the cells which make hormones like insulin.

Pancreatic cancer stage 4 is the most dangerous stage to the extent of being fatal. In this stage the tumor which originated in the pancreas is no longer localized and their effects have spread to various parts of the body. In most cases, by now the cancer has made its way to the lungs and the liver and has affected the lymph nodes as well. At pancreatic cancer stage 4, the cancerous tumor is more than 2cms long and extended beyond the pancreatic capsule. Hence removal of the tumor or the organ in this stage may not help the situation.

During pancreatic cancer stage 4, the response rate is usually not very high, and even after radiotherapy, or chemical inducement the chances of survival are not very high. Doctors at this stage would usually advise the patients to participate in clinical trials of the latest drugs that may have been formulated due to the constant research in this arena.

Another surgical process that the doctors may attempt at this stage is to cut the gall bladder or the bile duct and insert a tube which is then sewn directly on to the small intestine. This way the excess of the bile is drained out directly into the small intestine through this tube. At this stage the cancer may also be hampering the normal eating habits, since it does not allow the usual flow of food to the stomach. In this situation the stomach is again surgically sewn directly on to the small intestine to facilitate the passage of food as normally as is possible.

Pancreatic Cancer in its last stages spreads to various organs in the body including the liver, lungs, stomach, spleen and may also affect the bowel. In fact sometimes, the fact that the pancreatic cancer is in its 4th stage may not be determined until surgery is completed. This again is further subdivided into phases A and B.

In phase A the cancer only spreads to the adjoining organs and is referred to as locally advanced. Even this is beyond the stage where surgically removing the organ could help. At this stage, the treatment primarily involves restricting the spread of the cancer to other parts of the body so as to ensure that the patient can continue living for a few more months or years without any major symptoms of the disease.

At the pancreatic cancer stage 4, once the cancer reaches phase B, however it spreads to distant organs the most commonly affected one being the liver. Christened as Metastatic, at this stage treatment involves controlling the pancreatic cancer symptoms and reducing the pain as much as possible so that the patient can at least survive his last days in peace.

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Tags: pancreatic cancer, pancreatic cancer stage 4, pancreatic cancer stages

Category: Pancreatic Cancer