The American Cancer Society reports that pancreatic cancer remains the fourth leading cause of cancer death. It is usually found in late stages, however, treatment for both early and late stages of cancer are available.
Whipple's Procedure and Cryosurgery
Whipple's Procedure consists of major surgery removing 1/3 of the stomach, gallbladder, bile duct, the head of the pancreas and duodeum of the intestines. It is done to remove as much cancerous tissue as possible. According to the ACS, cryosurgery is the insertion of a tube into the tumor to freeze it with liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide.
Chemotherapy Treatment
Patients receive chemotherapy both after surgery and in advanced disease. According to The Core Curriculum of Oncology Nursing commonly administered chemotherapy medications include gemcitabine, fluorouracil, topotecan, and doxorubicin.
Chemoradiation Therapy
Chemoradiation describes the combination of giving chemotherapy and radiation together to kill as many cancer cells as possible.
Microwave Thermotherapy
Microwave thermotherapy works in the opposite way that cryosurgery works. The ACS reports that microwaves are used to heat and kill cancer cells within the pancreas by insertion of a catheter with a small microwave antenna into the tumor site.
Radiofrequency Ablation
According to the ACS, microwave thermotherapy radio frequencies may also heat and kill cancer cells.
Embolization
Embolization works to cut off the blood supply to the tumor causing it's death. The American Cancer Society describes the procedure as insertion of a tube into the blood vessel that supplies the tumor with blood and using different things such as tiny beads or chemotherapy.
References
- Pancreatic Cancer: Ablative Techniques
- "Core Curriculum for Oncology Nursing"; Itano, J. Ph.D, Taoka, K. MSN; 2005
- "The Chemotherapy Source Book"; Michael C. Perry MD.; 2008.
- American Cancer Society Detailed Guide to Pancreatic Cancer
