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... x-rays are taken. These pictures aid the surgeon by helping he or she plan the operation. The final test is a laparoscopy.
A surgeon guides a small camera through a half-inch incision in the abdomen. The organs in the abdomen can then be examined directly. This is done to find out if the pancreatic tumor has spread to other organs or structures. But what happens if your tumor cannot be surgically removed? There are three other forms of treatment other than surgery for pancreatic cancer. One of the methods is chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy is when a patient is given drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs are given through a vein into the blood stream, or intravenously. In some cases, chemotherapy is also given with radiation therapy to make the tumor cells less active. Radiotherapy is another method of therapy by which high-energy x-rays kill cancer cells. Treatment is usually given five days per week and takes roughly about 45 minutes for two to five weeks. The last treatment is called inter operative radiation therapy.
This is when single radiation treatments are given during surgery. If a tumor can be surgically removed then it will be done alone with chemotherapy and radiation treatments. If the tumor is in the head of the pancreas, then a part of the stomach and the right half of the pancreas, and the small intestine will be removed. This complicated surgery usually takes 6 to 8 hours.
If a tumor is diagnosed by a needle biopsy, chemotherapy and radiation are given before surgery. Usually surgery alone will not treat pancreatic cancer. There are also other diseases that can occur in the pancreas. Pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition of the pancreas that is very painful and sometime lethal.
There are various types of pancreatitis which all involve irritation, inflammation, and or infection of the pancreas. The three types of pancreatitis are chronic pancreatitis, acute pancreatitis, and pancreatic abscess. Chronic pancreatitis is caused by heavy alcohol drinking, hemochromatosis; a condition of excess iron in the blood, and other unknown factors. Inflammation destructs functioning glandular tissue in the pancreas. This causes inability to fully digest fats because of the lack of pancreatic enzymes. Insulin is then not made and attacks of this disease come more often when the condition progresses.
Chronic pancreatitis occurs more frequently in men than in women. Having a low-fat diet, drinking no alcohol, not consuming caffeine, and controlling blood sugar levels treat chronic pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis is also inflammation of the pancreas. But in adults it is caused from gallstones or other diseases related to the gallbladder. It is also caused from alcohol use. Viral infection is yet another cause.
In acute pancreatitis it is thought that the enzymes normally secreted by the pancreas in an inactive form become active inside the pancreas and start to digest the pancreatic tissue. This is called auto digestion and it causes swelling, hemorrhage, and damaged blood vessels. This attack usually lasts for 48 hours. In most cases, the symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain end in a week. But in some life-threatening cases bad illnesses develop. The death rate is very high when the liver, heart, or kidney are damaged.
The last of pancreatitis is pancreatic abscess. This is when there is a large amount of pus within the pancreas. In many cases pancreatic abscess occurs within people who have acute pancreatitis. Drainage through the skin gets rid of the pus. Cutting an incision into the abdomen wall and draining the pus may also be required.
Another disease that many people in this world have is diabetes. This is a chronic disorder involving insulin, which is a hormonal substance produced by the endocrine glands in the islets of Langerhans. Diabetes is a disease in which your body is unable to store glucose and use it correctly. Glucose then goes directly into the bloodstream causing your sugar level to rise way to high.
The cause of diabetes mellitus is not yet found but heredity and diet are believed to be some cause of this disease. Insulin is necessary for blood sugar to go from the blood to the inside of cells. Unless the sugar gets into the cells, the body cannot use it. The kidneys remove the excess sugar, which causes the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to go out of whack.
About 4 % of women and 2 % of men in the United States are diabetic (Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, 1 Jan 1993) There are three types of diabetes. These forms are called Type I, or juvenile onset diabetes, Type II, or adult onset diabetes, and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Type I occurs in people before they reach the age of 30. Type 1 affects children and is usually caused by a deficient secretion of insulin. This form of diabetes requires insulin injections in order for the patient to survive. Type II occurs in people who are over 40 and who are overweight and have a family history of diabetes.
This type affects adults who have cells that are enable to respond to insulin. Subjects usually have excess insulin in the bloodstream. (Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, 1 Jan 1993) 90 % of overweight people have diabetes. Gestation diabetes is a pregnancy-related disease. This type of disease usually starts or is recognized during pregnancy. In almost all of the cases, the blood sugar level will return to normal after the delivery of the baby. Gestational diabetes occurs in people with maternal age over 25 years, family history of diabetes, and are overweight.
It also occurs in people who have had an unexplained death in a previous infant. To treat Type I the patient needs to stabilize the metabolism, restore normal body weight, and eliminate high blood sugar levels. In young people controlling Type I diabetes is more difficult. To maintain blood sugar levels, the patient must go for regular insulin injections, either supplemented or by oral medication, and maintain a health diet limited with carbohydrates and fats.
A complication of insulin therapy will result in insulin shock, or hypoglycemic, which is a condition resulting in an oversupply of insulin in the blood, or high sugar levels. F. G. Banting and B. H. Best discovered the treatment we still use today.
A patient with Type II or gestational diabetes they are treated by watching their own body weight, dieting, and exercising regularly. Since diabetes mellitus affects up to 5 % of the population of the United State studies nationwide are trying to find the cure for this deadly disease. Hopefully one day this disease which is among the top 10 cause of death in the United States will be cure. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Blood Sugar Levels Kill Cancer Cells
