Pancreatic Cancer Treatment & Clinical Trials

There are different treatments for pancreatic cancer. Doctors choose the best ones based on a person’s health and how much the cancer has grown or spread. Some treatments include:

• Surgery: This means a surgeon may cut out the tumor or a piece of the pancreas. Sometimes, they may need to remove nearby body parts, like a small piece of the stomach, the small intestine, or the bile duct. This can ease symptoms or slow down the disease if the cancer hasn’t grown too much.
  • Whipple Surgery: A surgeon removes the head of the pancreas and some nearby parts, like a small piece of the small intestine, the bile duct, and sometimes a bit of the stomach to help get rid of the tumor.
    • After the surgery, the doctor connects the rest back together so food can still move through the body and the pancreas can continue to do its job.
    • Whipple surgery is a big operation, and it can take a long time to heal, but it can sometimes help people live longer and feel better.
• Chemotherapy (chemo): Chemotherapy involves taking strong medicines (with pills or through a tube called an IV) to attack and destroy cancer cells or keep them from growing. This kind of treatment can reach cancer cells all over the body. Sometimes, it’s used after surgery to destroy any tiny cancer cells that might be left.
• Radiation Therapy: This kind of treatment uses powerful rays of energy (like X-rays) to destroy cancer cells or shrink a tumor. Often, radiation is used together with chemotherapy.
• Targeted Therapy: This treatment finds weak spots in the cancer cells and attacks them directly, without hurting healthy cells as much. Scientists design these medicines to match the way the cancer grows.
• Immunotherapy: This kind of treatment helps your body’s own immune system recognize and destroy the cancer cells, much like it would destroy a virus or a germ.
• Palliative care: This is special care to ease pain, reduce symptoms, and make the person more comfortable. This kind of care helps improve their quality of life while they’re battling the disease.

Often, doctors combine these treatments to try to slow down the growth of the cancer and ease a person’s symptoms. The main goals are to help the person feel better and live as long as possible with their friends and family.

During treatment, people may feel side effects, like tiredness, nausea, weakness, or losing their appetite, but their doctors can help ease many of these problems. The team of doctors, nurses, and other health care workers is there to support the person and their family every step of the way.