Cancer Articles (Dr. S.N White)

Cancer of the Pancreas What is the pancreas?  It is a pulpy, flat gland about 5 inches long by a few inches high, which lies far back on the rear wall of the upper abdominal cavity. The part it plays in the body is a vital and specialized one. It manufactures digestive juices which are passed through the pancreatic duct into the intestine for digestion of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Insulin, which is essential for the utilization of sugar, is manufactured in the pancreas and deposited directly into the bloodstream. A duct, called the pancreatic duct, runs through the entire length of the pancreas. The pancreas is often referred to as having a head, a body, and a tail. The head fits into the curve of the duodenum on the right, close to the common bile duct, and the tail curves up toward the spleen. At the head of the pancreas there is often a branching of the main pancreatic duct. These ducts are responsible for collecting the digestive juices manufactured by the glan...

How serious is pancreatic cancer? This is a difficult problem for all concerned. From the patient's viewpoint it is hard to categorize the early symptoms and the uncontrolled disease can be intolerable. For the surgeon it is often frustratingly impossible to remove the cancer with a real hope for cure. In most individuals the disease is encountered too late for total correction. Even when the cancer is removed, the longterm results are discouraging. The disease is so difficult to diagnose correctly that the majority of patients are treated for three to six months for another illness before his cancer becomes recognizable as the true cause. Is this a rare disease?  No, actually it is very common. Certainly pancreatic cancer is being recognized with increasing frequency because of improved diagnostic techniques. How does it come about? What causes it?  There is no information on this. We don't even have any suspicions. Whereas there is some suggestion that tumors elsewh...