Booklet: What You Need to Know about Pancreatic Cancer

Treatment Methods

Surgery may be done to remove all or part of the pancreas and other nearby tissue. The type of surgery depends on the type of pancreatic cancer, the location of the tumor in the pancreas, the person's symptoms, whether the cancer involves other organs, and whether the cancer can be completely removed. In the Whipple procedure, the surgeon removes the head of the pancreas, the duodenum, part of the stomach, and other nearby tissue. A total pancreatectomy is surgery to remove the entire pancreas as well as the duodenum, common bile duct, gallbladder, spleen, and nearby lymph nodes.

Sometimes, the cancer cannot be completely removed. However, surgery can help to relieve symptoms that occur if the duodenum or bile duct is blocked. To relieve such symptoms, the surgeon creates a bypass around the blockage.

See the discussion about the side effects of surgery.

These are some questions a patient may want to ask the doctor before having surgery:

• What kind of operation will it be?
• Will further treatment be necessary? What kind?
• How will I feel after the operation?
• If I have pain, how will you help?
• How long will I be in the hospital?
• When will I be able to resume my normal activities?

Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is the use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing and dividing. Like surgery, radiation therapy is local therapy; the radiation can affect cancer cells only in the treated area. The radiation to treat pancreatic cancer comes from a machine that aims the rays from radioactive material at a specific area of the body.

These are some questions a patient may want to ask the doctor before having radiation therapy:

• What is the goal of this treatment?
• How will the radiation be given?
• When will the treatments begin? When will they end?
• How will I feel during therapy? What are the possible side effects?
• What can I do to take care of myself during treatment?
• Will I be able to continue my normal activities during treatment?

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. It may be given alone or along with radiation therapy to relieve symptoms of the disease if the cancer cannot be removed. When the cancer can be removed, doctors sometimes give chemotherapy after surgery to help control the growth of cancer cells that may remain in the body. The doctor may use one drug or a combination of drugs.

Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles: a treatment period followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on. Most anticancer drugs are given by injection into a vein (IV); some are given by mouth. Chemotherapy is a systemic therapy, meaning that the drugs flow through the body in the bloodstream.

Usually a person has chemotherapy as an outpatient (at the hospital, at the doctor's office, or at home). However, depending on which drugs are given and the person's general health, a short hospital stay may be needed. Read about the side effects of chemotherapy.

These are some questions patients may want to ask the doctor before starting chemotherapy:

• What is the goal of this treatment?
• What drugs will I be taking? How will they be given? Will I need to stay in the hospital?
• Will the drugs cause side effects? What can I do about them?
• How long will I need to take this treatment?
• What can I do to take care of myself during treatment?

Biological therapy (also called immunotherapy) is a form of treatment that uses the body's natural ability (immune system) to fight disease or to protect the body from treatment side effects. Researchers are testing several types of biological therapy, alone or in combination with chemotherapy. These treatments may be used when pancreatic cancer has spread to other organs or when it has recurred. People receiving biological therapy may need to stay in the hospital so that the side effects of their treatment can be watched. Read about the side effects of biological therapy.

These are some questions patients may want to ask the doctor before starting biological therapy:

• What kind of treatment will be used?
• What side effects can I expect? How long do the side effects last? What can be done to manage them?
• How will we know whether the treatment is working?

 << Back                         Back to Content Page                            Next >>