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Pancreas Cancer Types

Question: Father died of cancer in the pancreas, but on death certificate it says gastroenteritis? My father passed away early hours this morning, we all new he was suffering from cancer of the pancreas but today when we got his proof of death it states cancer and gastroenteritis? I typed it online but it doesn't make sense, it explains it happens after having pancreas cancer but I'm confused. what did he die of?

Answer: Sorry about your dad. I lost my dad two years ago. It's rough. But to answer your good question, it is difficult to label one cause of death when people die. As a cancer specialist doctor for 20 years, I filled out hundreds of these certificates. I was always tempted to just say "respiratory arrest" and "cardiac arrest" - since all of us die when we stop breathing and the heart stops. I was at the bedside when many of my patients died. In the vast majority of cases, people stop breathing first - then the heart stops. For many of my patients I could have listed half a dozen things that led to death. The underlying malignancy may be the main problem, but often it was a pneumonia or a blood clot or sepsis or a bleeding event that was the last straw. There are many ancillary events that may occur in a cancer patient. Gastroenteritis is a bit unusual to be listed as the primary final event - if this is how it was listed on the certificate. The form asks for contributing causes along with the main diagnosis. It may have been filled out late at night by a tired doctor who listed problems in reverse order. I can't tell you how many times I filled those forms out very late at night. Paperwork often gets done when patients and their family members are asleep and the phone stops ringing for a few hours. Being a cancer doctor is a 24/7 job. At the peak of my practice I was losing 20 people every month to advanced cancers. The worst day was five good people lost in one 24 hour period. I always felt that spending time with the patient and the family was more important than the after death paperwork - though I always had the paperwork done within 24 hours at the expense of sleep. It is necessary, and record keeping is part of the job.


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