Pancreatic cancer, also known as pancreatic cancer, which has the title of "King of Cancer", is a highly malignant malignant tumor of the digestive tract that is difficult to diagnose and treat. In life, we are familiar with the body organs such as the heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidney, but we know very little about the pancreas. In this issue, the content of the Physician‘s Brief Talk column will be the Hong Kong clinical oncology specialist Dr. Pan Mingjun, who will unveil the "mystery" about pancreatic diseases for everyone.
What is pancreas and pancreatic cancer?
The pancreas is a digestive organ in the body, located deep in the abdomen of the human body, behind the stomach, and surrounding the spleen, liver and gallbladder and duodenum.
There are blood vessels behind the pancreas, including arteries, large veins, and nerve fibers. Although the pancreatic organ is not large, it is the size of the palm of the hand and consists of three parts: the head, the neck and the tail.
The pancreas function of the human body mainly includes endocrine function and exocrine function.
The former can secrete insulin and glucagon to maintain the stable function of blood sugar in the human body; while the latter secrete enzymes to help digest fat and protein in the human body.
Dr. Pan Mingjun pointed out that pancreatic tumors can actually be divided into two categories: endocrine tumors "incidence close to 10%" and exocrine tumors "incidence close to 90%." Pancreatic tumors are not easy to be discovered by us. Once they are found in the middle and advanced stages, the survival rate of pancreatic tumors in the past 5 years is less than 1%, so it is very important to predict the examination in advance.
6 self-examination of pancreatic function
Patients with early pancreatic tumors are likely to mistake stomach or digestive system diseases, or even think it is a phenomenon of overwork, and ignore it. So how can I detect this kind of disease earlier?
Dr. Pan Mingjun lists six checklists:
1. Tight back and waist or upper abdomen has nothing to do with diet. When the back and waist are tight and the upper abdomen has unexplained pain, it is most likely that the pancreatic tumor has eroded the nerve fibers.
2. Pain in the left abdomen and left shoulder blade after eating a greasy, high-fat meal. Since the pancreas secretes enzymes to break down the oils of food, when the body eats greasy or high-fat foods, the left side of the abdomen may feel pain. When this happens, we need to pay great attention to it.
3. Gastrointestinal reactions such as frequent diarrhea, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting. If you experience gastrointestinal discomfort and frequent diarrhea over a long period of time, there may be problems with the secretion of enzymes. In addition, when it is accompanied by loss of appetite and nausea, it is very likely that the disease is affecting the position of the stomach and duodenum.
4. The body is often exhausted, and I still feel sleepy after a long period of restful sleep. In patients with pancreatic tumors, due to low nutrition and blood sugar levels, the pancreas cannot function normally. Most patients will feel tired and sleepy.
5. A sharp drop in weight within a short period of time. Because of reduced absorption and loss of appetite, pancreatic patients will naturally lose weight and become thinner.
6. After a meal, symptoms of low blood sugar such as cold sweats, dizziness, and discomfort often occur. Tumors in the pancreas can also affect the decrease in insulin secretion in the endocrine system. There are also risks of complications such as diabetes and low blood sugar.
How to prevent and treat pancreatic tumors?
We all know that the prevention of diseases is far greater than the treatment. To prevent pancreatic tumors, we must first understand its high-incidence factors:
Obesity, reduce the intake of high-fat foods
Drink alcohol and avoid heavy drinking
Three highs (high blood pressure, high blood fat and high blood sugar), maintain a reasonable diet and exercise habits
In addition, when the body has 6 symptoms for investigation, it is necessary to consult a specialist in time. To perform endoscopy, first, perform a needle biopsy in the duodenum to confirm the presence of tumors? Then use positron scan or computer scan to determine the extent of tumor spread?
Dr. Pan Mingjun said that pancreatic tumors are usually divided into four stages. Tumors of different stages have different treatment options.
If the patient is in the first or second stage, the treatment plan is mainly surgical resection. However, after the third stage, the tumor has eroded the blood vessels or is very close to the blood vessels, and surgery cannot be performed with radiation or chemotherapy; then, if the patient has entered the fourth stage of cancer and has spread, it is recommended to use drugs and chemotherapy.
As the condition of advanced pancreatic cancer patients deteriorates rapidly, cancer cells erode the nerve fibers and cause severe pain. Chemotherapy can generally be used to reduce the pain of the patient. At the same time, the most important thing is to extend the life of the patient from more than 6 months to one year.
As the prognostic recurrence rate of pancreatic tumors is as high as more than half, early patients are recommended to receive chemotherapy even after surgery. According to clinical studies, Dr. Pan Mingjun recommends adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery to effectively reduce the recurrence rate and prolong the life of patients.
Correct understanding of pancreatic tumor disease, prevention and prediction is the key. If the disease is already plagued, you need to consult a specialist in time to avoid missing the best treatment period.
Return