Anna Przybylska was 36 when she lost to pancreatic cancer. The actress died in 2014. Is this cancer better treated now? Does a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer mean a death sentence? We asked Dr. Dariusz Maj, a gastroenterologist from the Damian Medical Center about it.
- Pancreatic cancer relatively rarely attacks young people, but it does happen. Why? Dr. Maj explains that genetic tendencies often determine this
- Among the causes of pancreatic cancer, there are also factors that we can influence. An unhealthy lifestyle, especially cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse, increase the risk of developing the disease
- Dr. Dariusz Maj: – Pancreatic cancer is one of the best known types of cancer. We know everything about it, but we do not have diagnostic methods that would detect it at an early stage, allowing for effective treatment
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
Sylwia Stachura, MedTvoiLokony: Over six years ago, Anna Przybylska died of pancreatic cancer. How is it possible that such a young and active person fell ill? After all, it’s a cancer of older men.
Dr. Dariusz Maj, gastroenterologist from the Damian Medical Center: It’s just a statistic. If you take the population of people who died of pancreatic cancer, men in their sixties are indeed the most common cases. Unfortunately, there is a group of very young people – I myself have had more than a dozen in my career – who developed pancreatic cancer at the age of 30-50. This applies to both men and women.
What it comes from?
When it comes to young people, the causes can be genetic, especially if there are cases of cancer in the family. Genetics of pregnancy over humans. But it is often a spontaneous disease for reasons that are not entirely clear.
And what, apart from genetics, makes us sick?
The risk factors are well known, including smoking and alcohol abuse. There is strong evidence that this is the most likely to make you sick. For example, alcohol destroys the pancreatic parenchyma – this is because of its inflammation, which contributes to the development of cancer. The same is true of chronic pancreatitis, where a smoldering inflammatory process causes neoplastic transformation. There are also pancreatic defects, which also increases the risk of disease, also in the inflammatory mechanism. Obesity is a problem – more and more cancers are related to incorrect body weight.
If someone has a genetic predisposition, and in addition smokes and drinks too much, they risk getting sick.
Yes, the more risk factors there are, the higher the risk of cancer.
In the case of colorectal cancer, it can be seen that younger and younger patients are getting sick. Is this tendency also observed in pancreatic cancer?
No, the incidence remains at a similar level. There aren’t many cases compared to other cancers.
Annually, there are about 4 thousand. new cases. It’s just that as soon as we hear the name pancreatic cancer, we immediately think – a death sentence.
It is one of the best-known cancers. We know perfectly well the processes and cell defects that lead to neoplastic transformation and the formation of a cancer focus and its spread. Pancreatic neoplasms differ in their histological structure. Adenocarcinoma is the most common. We know everything about it, but we do not have diagnostic methods that would detect it at an early stage, allowing for effective treatment. The other types of pancreatic cancer have a better prognosis, but unfortunately they are less common.
Bow. med. Dariusz Maj, specialist in gastroenterology and internal diseases from the Damian Medical Center
We have a problem with diagnostics?
An early stage tumor is one that does not exceed 2-3 mm. We do not currently have such diagnostic methods for the pancreas to detect precancerous conditions and minor foci. This is the problem of today’s medicine. Currently, we do not have tests that detect pancreatic cancer in the early stages. We know how to treat pancreatic cancer, except that therapy must be given when the tumor is in its first phase.
In addition, pancreatic cancer is asymptomatic at first, and the patient does not suspect that he is ill.
In most cancers, the first stages are asymptomatic – this applies not only to pancreatic cancer. There are no complaints during the first years. The difference is that in colorectal cancer, for example, we have a colonoscopy, thanks to which neoplastic changes can be detected and patients can be healed. This is not the case with pancreatic cancer.
When it comes to bowel cancer, colonoscopy is indeed a great diagnostic tool, but people don’t want to get tested.
That’s true. For example, today I had a patient who said that she is afraid of a colonoscopy and will not be examined. And I asked: are you not afraid of dying? Aren’t you afraid of colorectal cancer? Because I am humanly afraid to get sick, but not to investigate. The average Kowalski thinks that testing is dangerous, that doctors can’t do it, or that they send it without the need for testing. This is absurd. But it also proves how poorly patients are educated and informed, how little is the power of campaigns that encourage available screening, for example. We cannot be afraid of research, we cannot not use it – this is an unacceptable attitude. The sad thing is that we trust more what others say – neighbors, friends, family members. These conversations often fuel the fear of the test.
In 2014, when Anna Przybylska died, the death rate from pancreatic cancer was estimated at 90%. A few years have passed …
Nothing has changed. One of the professors said that when it comes to knowledge about pancreatic cancer, we are in the 60st century. But when it comes to diagnosis and treatment, we are in the XNUMXs. This is what it looks like in the world, not only in Poland.
We don’t have new, more effective treatments?
The problem is that few patients get treatment at a very early stage. Those who received treatment are alive and healthy. Unfortunately, it is not possible to capture patients at this stage of the disease, and thus to treat them effectively. It is not that medicine is not trying to move forward – diagnostic methods are getting better and better, but there is still no breakthrough.
This cancer is very insidious – it has no symptoms, it cannot be detected, and when a patient sees a doctor, our hands are tied, there is not much that can be done.
When pancreatic cancer is symptomatic and visible on imaging tests, it is usually the last, fourth, and most advanced stage.
How Much Can You Live With Pancreatic Cancer After Diagnosis?
Life expectancy is approximately six months. There are patients who die within a few weeks, there are those – such as Anna Przybylska – who live several months. However, the most common prognosis is six months.
It’s shocking.
Yes, it sounds scary, but it’s the harsh truth. Patients undergoing surgery have a better chance, while in others it is impossible to remove the tumor, but the prognosis is generally disastrous.
Are there any ways to prevent pancreatic cancer? Can we do anything to avoid the disease?
We often have no influence on the disease in old age. The organism is aging and neoplastic transformation occurs in the course of metabolic and biochemical processes. Young people can reduce the risk by quitting smoking and limiting alcohol and by maintaining a healthy weight. You also need to research. It is worth having an abdominal ultrasound once a year – we will not capture such a very early stage, but thanks to regular ultrasound examinations, possible changes can be noticed. Unfortunately, neither computed tomography nor ultrasound are screening tests – they will detect changes of about 1 cm, but in the case of pancreatic cancer it will still be an advanced form of the tumor.
Also read:
- Every day, 33 Poles die of colorectal cancer. The situation is dramatic
- Can pancreatic cancer be avoided?
- 10 symptoms that could be a sign of your developing cancer
For a long time you have not been able to find the cause of your ailments or are you still looking for it? Do you want to tell us your story or draw attention to a common health problem? Write to the address [email protected] #Together we can do more
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