Pancreatic Cancer Stages

Question: pancreatic cancer....................? so my cousin has pancreatic cancer stage 4 in his liver, lungs, and spleen, i was wondering what is the highest stage before it is so severe that he will........... you get the picture. (is there another or more stages, or is 4 the highest? i know that this cancer is serious but is there a possibility of him getting over it/ surviving?

Answer: First let me say how sorry I am. Cancer is a horrible disease that I wish no one had to endure. You need to spend quality time with your cousin now and make sure that the doctors keep him comfortable. Unfortunately Stage 4 is the worst stage there is and the fact that it is spreading is not a good sign. If there is no further treatment that he can have you family should consider Hospice. It is a wonderful program that helps patients with their end of life journey and also helps the family to cope. I know all this is hard to hear but I will say a prayer for your cousin and God Bless.

Question: pancreatic cancer stages? My mom has pancreatic cancer, and at her CT scan last week it showed a small portion has spread to her liver. Does that mean that it's stage 4? Everything I've looked at says that if it spreads to your liver, no matter how large or small the amount is, that it's stage 4. She's going to do 3 weeks of IV chemo, take a week off, then another 3 weeks, then see where she is. Thanks, I just don't really understand this process.

Answer: I can relate to your question in a personal way. My husband has pancreatic cancer stage IV. My husband had 4 rounds of chemotherapy. My understanding is if the cancer has spread to the liver it is considered Stage IV. My husband has Stage IVB. Most cancer stages are substaged to A and B. The link I provide toward the bottom of the first link page explains in detail the staging of pancreatic cancer. I also include a couple other resources that we have found helpful. Generally most people that are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed at a later stage. In such cases, Chemotherapy is the treatment of choice. Chemotherapy has been very helpful in knocking back my husband's cancer.

Question: Is it possible for someone to have stage 4 pancreatic cancer with liver metastasis after? after having had an exclusive and complete, state of the art, head to toe medical check up 6 months prior without any red flags. Is this a turbo charged cancer or did someone drop the ball? My husband's friend and collegue has just been diagnosed. To happy Dawg: The state of the art physical was one that had the 3D imaging of the entire body. The one that Oprah featured once when she had a physical done with Dr. Mehmet Oz. It's a $6,000 dollar test but is the most sophisticated imaging technology available. Also, this test is not covered by insurance.

Answer: Yes, it is possible to miss cancer even with a complete state of the art check up. In general there are no symptoms and looking for cancer is like looking for a tiny needle in a haystack. You need to know exactly in the entire body where to look for that one malignant cell that may be cancerous. Sometimes in our anger in a tough medical situation people want to reach out and blame someone. Be extremely angry at the disease, that is where you should focus your energy. It is not any one persons fault. Consider this please . . cancer is a progressive disease. It starts out microscopically . . one single mutated cell . . there are no symptoms. That cell begins to multiply uncontrollably. Some of these malignant cells have the ability to double in as little as two to four weeks. It can grow rapidly from that point on . . and still be undetectable. It is extremely difficult to find any type of malignant tumor that is under 2cm. So, unless someone has a medical exam at just the right moment . . cancer can easily be missed. The ease with which cancer can be missed is one reason that doctors recommend to cancer patients to have CT, PET, or MRI pretty routinely (ever 2 to 3 months) in order to detect any growth or spred of the disease. Even with all the imaging tools we have . . cancer tumors can be underestimated . . and may not pick up the extent of the disease. So, yes . . in answer to your question . . high grade, aggressive type cancers are 'turbo charged' and can grow uncontrollably within weeks to months. That's why they are so deadly . .by the time anyone notices them they are already advanced. PLwC: Pancreatic Cancer http://www.plwc.org/portal/site/PLWC/menuitem.6067beb2271039bcfd748f68ee37a01d/?vgnextoid=1357ea7105daa010VgnVCM100000ed730ad1RCRD&vgnextfmt=cancer NCI: Pancreatic Cancer http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/pancreatic ACOR: Mailing list - The Pancreatic Cancer Support & Information eCommunity http://listserv.acor.org/archives/pancreas-onc.html Confronting Pancreatic Cancer http://www.pancreatica.org/

Question: Pancreatic Cancer Stage 3? My step-father found out that he has stage 3 pancreatic cancer 2 months ago. He went back and forth to the ER for a whole year for severe abdominal pain. They thought he had an ulcer. He never followed up with a doctor after all of his ER visits. He probably could have found out a lot sooner if he had. Well, the cancer has been found to be wrapped around his blood vessels. It has not spread to any other organs. He's currently on a 2 wk break from chemo. He did six weeks of chemo and afterward he had a CT scan. As of yet, they said it has not spread. He's in pain often and complains of pain when he eats and sometimes when he drinks. I know that can't be good. I don't live in the same city as him, so I've learn all of this from caregivers. My question is how long to you think he has? I want to get some kind of idea so I can make plans to travel to visit him. I can not get the words out of my mouth to ask anyone this question, I can type it better. P.S. He's just 47. My mother died few years back from colon ca. CC- He is eating, in fact tonight he told me he was having ribs and mac and cheese along with 2 icecream sandwiches. He says he makes himself eat most of the time. I think mostly because he may not have much of a appeitite. thanks

Answer: Pancreatic cancer is one of the nastiest types around, hitting the young & mostly males in society. You can see an example of this in "The Enquirer" with what Patrick Swayze from "Dirty Dancing" is currently going through. (Michael Landon from "Little House on the Prairie" also died from this). It use to have a prognosis of about 6 months before but now with new Chemo it has a prognosis of about 1 -2 years, but of course that also depends on the patient's medical history before they developed the cancer. If he is still eating, he is stable, but if he cannot eat that would indicate he only has a few weeks, but it could be sooner for I have seen people suddenly stop eating & die in a few days. I'm esp. concerned that he is not comfortable & is in pain for there is no reason for this with all the pain medications that are now available for cancer patients.Please speak to the doctor about the chemo & getting stronger pain medication for him. If you (the family & patient) decide that the chemo is not helping him or the MD stops the chemo, Hospice can then come in to do pain management & to help all of you deal with the cancer.The priority is for him to be comfortable now for yesterday is just a memory, tomorrow a dream, and just deal with today each day at a time. God bless.

Question: Can Naturopathy and ayurvedic medicine cure stage 4 pancreatic cancer without chemotheraphy?

Answer: No, they can't unfortunately. Those therapies are as equally ineffective as chemotherapy in this dreadful disease when stage IV. Sorry. God bless, best wishes

Question: How does pancreatic stage 4 cancer kill a person...I know it varies but is there anything common?

Answer: it often metastasizes,it is a very very aggressive cancer and readily spreads to other parts of the body. if it metastasizes to an organ like the Lungs or Brain it will definitely be fatal without treatment.

Question: If you catch pancreatic cancer in a early stage that shows no symptoms could it be fixed? could they cure the cancer in that very early stage so you can live your life?

Answer: get in touch with either the 1st site or the second and physically call them and they should be able to hook you up.......for the Grace of God don't wait.

Question: Are there any successful clinical trials available for pancreatic cancer? My father in law has stage 3 pancreatic cancer, and I want to find help.

Answer: Pancreatica (a very good and reliable web site devoted to dealing with pancreatic cancer) has probably the best/easiest clinical trials registry. It's the 1st URL below. The National Cancer Institute has information about finding clinical trials (2nd URL). I also attached a 3rd URL from ClinicalTrials.gov. I hope this helps.

Question: what is pancreatic cancer stage 2 prognosis?

Answer: If it's stage II, then presumably surgery has been completed successfully to determine stage. Stage II is divided into Stage IIA and IIB. Even at the 'early' stage, unfortunately pancreatic cancer is very aggressive. Estimated 5-year survival (chance of being alive in five years) for IIA is ~15-20%, for IIB 5-10%.

Question: pancreatic cancer stage 4 how long will i live?

Answer: You have been diagnosed? The doctor should have told you. The average life expectancy is 3 - 6 months. Sorry.

Question: End Stage Pancreatic Cancer? My grandmother has end stage pancreatic cancer. As of earlier this week she is no longer being given food or water and is being kept comfortable for the duration of her life. How long can we expect her to linger like this? Hospice is telling us it could be hours or days. Has anyone experienced this before? We really just want her to be at peace.

Answer: It can be about 5-14 days, normally about a week. Hospice should have provided you with a pamplet on the final stages of life and their signs. My mom passed after 5 days without food or water. After the fish-out-of-water breathing began is was about 5 hours. It's very sad, and very hard for everyone.

Question: my father has pancreatic cancer stage 4 into the liver and colon. how long will he live?

Answer: Truth is no one really has that answer. I hate it when doctors say things like, "You have three months to live" etc. They are clueless as to when someone will actually die and it is false of them to plant such seeds. I know people who were told they wouldn't make it through the night and are hear to tell about it ten years later and others who were told, "you will be fine" and died a week later...so, just take it a moment at a time and be in the now of what is. That is all any of us have, really.

Question: does anybody know if pancreatic cancer is the advance stage of diabetes? my boyfriend and i are in a aguement he says that pancrotic cancer is the advance stage of diabeties. i said no way cancer has nothing to do with diabeties.. lets see who is right!!

Answer: Cancer has nothing to do with diabetes. Cancer is a disease that occurs when cells in some part of your body start growing out of control. It takes over the functioning of organs and you body can't fight it. Diabetes is a condition that occurs when your pancreas doesn't make enough insulin. Usually in Type 1 that happens because your immune system attacks the islet cells which produce the insulin hormone. It is a genetic condition triggered by various things. The only link is that possibly if the pancreas is just over-consumed with cancer the patient may develop a type of insulin resistance and have the take injections.

Question: Any treatments for severe itching from Pancreatic Cancer? My Grandmother has been diagnosed with stage IV Pancreatic cancer, she has been suffering with uncontrolable itching, are there any treatments (we've been using Jojoba Oil, Lotion and Scalpacin but nothing seems to help) that anyone has found to be successful? Thank you

Answer: This is a tough problem to treat; lotions might be somewhat helpful, but usually fall far short. These agents have been used, sometimes work, require prescription: Steroids (like prednisone) Anithistamines (benadryl, zantac) Cholestyramine (a bile binding agent) 5HT3 antagonists (Zofran, anzemet) very pricey Paxil (an antidepressant) Also doxepin (another antidepressant) God bless, best wishes

Question: Info on stage 4 pancreatic cancer? My bosses dad was just diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I was just wanting some info. on it. What it does etc. He was so upset I didn't want to ask him to much.

Answer: Pancreatic cancer is usually detected at a late stage (stage 4 is the latest) because it usually causes no symptoms until it is large/has spread or because the symptoms are very vague and could look like a number of minor things. The pancreas is an organ that is responsible for producing a lot of necessary hormones in your body, like insulin and aiding in digestion. The tumor is considered stage 4 because by this point, it is large in size, spread to lymph nodes, and other organs of the body. Pancreatic cancer usually spreads to the liver and other organs in the digestive system. The tumors can cause a malfunction of any affected organs. This, in a short period of time, can lead to the organs shutting down or functioning so poorly that the person cannot continue on. My uncle was just diagnosed and has a 1 year prognosis with treatment, in spite of being stage 4, because his liver and pancreatic function are still considered to be near normal. My husband's grandma was diagnosed as stage 4 just a week before that and her prognosis is 3 months because of how fast her organs are loosing efficient function. Thank you for your consideration of your boss' feelings. He'll talk when/if he's ready. I hope you'll encourage others to do the same. I hope this answers some of your questions.

Question: My husband was JUST diagnosed with pancreatic cancer stage 1? he will be having a distal pan surgery this month. I Need to know what things I need at home after his hospital stayto make him more comfortable// Will he need round the clock care? We alsohave stairs in our house to get to the bedroom.... can he walk up these( we are in an upper level carriage house) FOOD? TYPES of liquids? I worked for doctors in the past but not for surgical oncologists so i know a little bit about post op care but anyone with dealing with care of cancer pt and experience would be greatly appreciated so i can care for the man i so love...thank you!

Answer: A lot of your questions will be answered once your husband has surgery. It's a little hard to tell you right now since I don't know how he'll respond to the surgery or if he's agreed to chemotherapy. If he's able to eat after surgery, you might want to get Ensure which is high in protein and calories since his appetite probably will be down. If you find that your husband is too weak to get up the stairs, you might want to consider a hospital bed on the main floor of your house. A discharge planner will get in touch will you after surgery to discuss your options and to let you know what your insurance covers. I know you probably are feeling like you should be doing something to help your husband but there's really nothing that can be done until you know how he responds to the surgery and chemotherapy. Good luck.