3 months ago
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This November you can raise awareness about pancreatic cancer so that together, we can all know it, fight it and end it.
The pancreas is a gland, about six inches long, located in the abdomen. It is surrounded by the stomach, small intestine, liver, spleen and gallbladder.
Cancer of the pancreas is sometimes called a "silent" disease because symptoms are not usually present in early stages.
Many patients have advanced disease by the time it becomes noticeable to the patient and the doctors. Some symptoms are jaundice, pain, weight loss, digestive difficulties and changes in stool.
There are several methods of treatment depending on the type and stage of the cancer. The patient may be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, biological therapies and/or complementary and alternative therapies. Some patients may receive one or more of these treatments.
Hot Springs resident Joe Robins has made it his crusade to bring awareness to the disease. His mom, Lenita Jean Wood was diagnosed in 2007 and died 2 1/2 months later.
For more information on pancreatic cancer, click here.
