Dr. F.W. Nugent is a medical oncologist specializing in gastrointestinal cancers with a special interest in pancreatic cancer. Dr. Nugent graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelors degree in religion before graduating from Albany Medical College. He presently serves as vice-chairman of medical oncology at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Dr. Keith E. Stuart is a medical oncologist specializing in the study and treatment of cancers involving the gastrointestinal tract, with a special interest in tumors involving the liver. He was educated at Harvard University (graduating magna cum laude) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine and did his medical training at the New England Deaconess Hospital.
Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Every second of every day within our body, a massive process of destruction
and repair occurs. The human body is comprised of trillions of cells, and every day
billions of cells wear out or are destroyed. Each time the body makes a new cell
to replace one that is wearing out, the body tries to make a perfect copy of the
cell that dies off, because that dying cell had a job to do and the newly made
cell must be capable of performing that same function. Despite remarkably
elegant systems in place to edit out errors in this process, the body makes tens
of thousands of mistakes daily in normal cell division either due to random
errors or from environmental pressure within the body. Most of these mistakes
are corrected, or the mistake leads to the death of the newly made cell and
another new cell is then made. Sometimes a mistake is made that, rather than
inhibiting the cell's ability to grow and survive, allows the newly made cell to
grow in an unregulated manner. When this occurs, that cell can begin to divide
independent of the checks and balances that control normal cell growth. When
this happens a tumor can develop.
Tumors fall into two categories; there are "benign" tumors and "malignant" or
cancerous tumors. So what is the difference? The answer is that a benign tumor
grows only in the tissue from which it arises. Benign tumors can sometimes grow
quite large or grow rapidly and cause severe symptoms. For example, a fibroid in
a woman's uterus can cause bleeding or pain, but it will never travel outside
the uterus and grow as a new tumor elsewhere. Fibroids, like all benign tumors,
lack the capacity to shed cells into the blood and lymph systems and cannot
travel to other places in the body and grow. A cancer, on the other hand, can
shed cells from the primary tumor that can float like dandelion seeds in the
wind through the bloodstream or lymphatics, landing in tissues distant from the
primary tumor, growing new tumors in various other sites. This process, called
metastasis, is the defining characteristic of a cancerous tumor. Pancreas
cancer, unfortunately, is a particularly good model for this process.
Cancers are named by the tissues from which the primary tumor arises. Hence,
a lung cancer that travels to the liver is not a "liver cancer" but is described
as metastatic lung cancer and a patient with a breast cancer which spreads to
the brain is not described as having a "brain tumor" but rather as having
metastatic breast cancer.
Abdominal pain is pain in the belly and can be acute or chronic. Causes include inflammation, distention of an organ, and loss of the blood supply to an organ. Abdominal pain can reflect a major problem with one of the organs in the abdomen such as the appendix, gallbladder, large and small intestine, pancreas, liver, colon, duodenum, and spleen.
There are many causes of back pain. Pain in the low back can relate to the bony lumbar spine, discs between the vertebrae, ligaments around the spine and discs, spinal cord and nerves, muscles of the low back, internal organs of the pelvis and abdomen, and the skin covering the lumbar area.
Muscle spasms are involuntary muscle contractions that come on suddenly and are usually quite painful. Dehydration, doing strenuous exercise in a hot environment, prolonged muscle use, and certain diseases of the nervous system may cause muscle spasms. Symptoms and signs of a muscle spasm include an acute onset of pain and a possible bulge seen or felt beneath the skin where the muscle is located. Gently stretching the muscle usually resolves a muscle spasm.
Nausea is an uneasiness of the stomach that often precedes vomiting. Nausea and vomiting are not diseases, but they are symptoms of many conditions. The causes of vomiting differ according to age, and treatment depends upon the cause of nausea and vomiting.
Itching can be a common problem. Itches can be localized or generalized. There are many causes of itching to include: infection (jock itch, vaginal itch), disease (hyperthyroidism, liver or kidney), reactions to drugs, and skin infestations (pubic or body lice). Treatment for itching varies depending on the cause of the itch.
Jaundice is a yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the eyes (sclerae) with bilirubin, the pigment found in bile. Jaundice can be an indicator of liver or gallbladder disease, or it may result from the rupture of red blood cells (hemolysis).
Stool color is generally brown. When stool color changes, often, an individual becomes concerned. The presence of the bilirubin in bile is generally responsible for stool color. Bilirubin concentration can vary bile color from light yellow to almost black in color. Changes in bilirubin can cause stool to turn green, gray, or clay-like in color. Intestinal bleeding may turn stool black, tarry, red, maroon, or smelly stool. Medication and food may also affect stool color.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacterium that causes chronic inflammation (gastritis) of the inner lining of the stomach in humans. This bacteria also is the most common cause of ulcers worldwide.
The hepatitis B virus is a unique, coated DNA virus belonging to the Hepadnaviridae family of viruses. The course of the virus is determined primarily by the age at which the infection is acquired and the interaction between the virus and the body's immune system. Successful treatment is associated with a reduction in liver injury and fibrosis (scarring), a decreased likelihood of developing cirrhosis and its complications, including liver cancer, and a prolonged survival.
Ascites, the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity is most commonly caused by cirrhosis of the liver. Some of the other causes of ascites include portal hypertension, congestive heart failure, blood clots, and pancreatitis. The most common symptoms include increased abdominal girth and size, abdominal bloating, and abdominal pain. Treatment depends on the cause of ascites.
Cancer is a disease caused by an abnormal growth of cells, also called malignancy. It is a group of 100 different diseases, and is not contagious. Cancer can be treated through chemotherapy, a treatment of drugs that destroy cancer cells.
Obesity is the state of being well above one's normal weight. A person has traditionally been
considered to be obese if they are more than 20 percent over their ideal weight.
That ideal weight must take into account the person's height, age, sex, and
build.
Smoking is an addiction. More than 430,000 deaths occur each year in the U.S. from smoking related illnesses. Secondhand smoke or "passive smoke" also harm family members, coworkers, and others around smokers. There are a number of techniques available to assist people who want to quit smoking.
Pancreatic cysts are collections of fluid within the pancreas. Some are benign, malignant, or pseudocysts. There are two major types of pancreatic cysts, inflammatory cysts and non-inflammatory cysts. Non-inflammatory cysts include: serous cyst adenomas, mucinous cyst adenomas, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), and solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. Symptoms of pancreatic cysts include abdominal pain, jaundice, fever, chills, and sepsis. Treatment depends on the type of cyst, and patient health.
Though it's difficult to say why some people develop cancer while others don't, research shows that certain risk factors increase a person's odds of developing cancer. These risk factors include growing older, family history of cancer, diet, alcohol and tobacco use, and exposure to sunlight, ionizing radiation, certain chemicals, and some viruses and bacteria.
Digestion is the complex process of turning food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestive process also involves creating waste to be eliminated, and is made of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food.
Smokeless tobacco can have negative health effects such as cancers, poor oral health (gum disease and tooth decay), infertility, pregnancy complications, and nicotine addiction.
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