Just Some Facts for You to Ponder

This was taken from the Johns Hopkins website.   http://pathology.jhu.edu/pc/

I just feel like everyone needs to know some of the facts about pancreatic cancer.  It is a scary disease and my mom is proof that anyone can get it.  As far as we know, the only risk factor she had was she was over 50. 

We need more research.  We need early detection.  The only way any of that is going to happen is to donate.   http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/evamckinney/KeeptheMemoryAlive

 

What everyone should know...

There is always hope!

Post-operative complications are lower and survival is improved when pancreatic cancer surgery is performed at specialized centers, such as Johns Hopkins, than it is when the same surgery is performed at hospitals with a low pancreatic cancer surgery volume.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death for both men and women.

• Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly of all types of cancer.
• This year 38,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and about 34,000 will die from it.
• Despite the high mortality rate, the federal government spends woefully little money on pancreatic cancer research.

Pancreatic cancer is treatable when caught early; the vast majority of cases are not diagnosed until too late.

• Five-year survival rates approach 25% if the cancers are surgically removed while they are still small and have not spread to the lymph nodes.

Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose

• There is no reliable screening test for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
• Symptoms are often vague and easily confused with other diseases.
• We need to invest in the development of an effective screening test.

Who Has the Greatest Risk?

• People with two or more relatives who have had pancreatic cancer (see National Familial Pancreas Tumor Registry)
• Cigarette Smokers
• People of Ashkenazi Jewish descent
• Have the BRCA2, p16, STK11 gene mutation or chronic pancreatitis
• Are over the age of 50