1. Pancreatic Cancer Slideshow Pictures
2. Pancreas Medical Anatomy Image Collection
3. Cancer-Fighting Foods Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Francis W. Nugent, MD

Francis W. Nugent, MD

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.

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Medical Author:

Keith E. Stuart, MD

Keith E. Stuart, MD

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.

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Medical Editor:

Jay W. Marks, MD

Jay W. Marks, MD

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.

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In this Article

• Pancreatic cancer facts
• What is the pancreas, and what is the function of the pancreas?
• What is cancer?
• What is pancreatic cancer?
• What are pancreatic cancer causes and risk factors?
• What are the symptoms and signs of pancreatic cancer?
• How is the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer made?
• How is pancreatic cancer staged?
• What is the treatment for resectable pancreatic cancer?
• What is the treatment for locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer?
• What is the treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer?
• What are side effects of pancreatic cancer treatment?
• What is the prognosis of pancreatic cancer?
• What research is being done on pancreatic cancer?
• Is complimentary or alternative therapy effective in pancreatic cancer treatment?
• Can pancreatic cancer be prevented?
• Where can people get support when coping with pancreatic cancer?
• Where can people find additional information about pancreatic cancer?
• Pancreatic Cancer - Slideshow
• Pictures of Pancreas - Image Collection
• Cancer-Fighting Foods - Slideshow
• Patient Comments: Pancreatic Cancer - Effective Treatments
• Patient Comments: Pancreatic Cancer - Causes
• Patient Comments: Pancreatic Cancer - Prognosis
• Find a local Oncologist in your town
• Pancreatic Cancer Index

Side effects of treatment for pancreatic cancer vary depending on the type of treatment. For example, radiation treatment (which is a local treatment) side effects tend to accumulate throughout the course of radiation therapy and include fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea. Chemotherapy side effects depend on the type of chemotherapy given (less aggressive chemotherapy treatments typically cause fewer side effects whereas more aggressive combination regimens are more toxic) and can include fatigue, loss of appetite, change in taste, hair loss (although not usually), and lowering of the immune system with risk for infections (immunosuppression). While these lists of side effects may seem worrisome, recognize that radiation doctors (radiation oncologists) and medical oncologists have much better supportive medications than they did in years past to control any nausea, pain, diarrhea, or immunosuppression related to treatment. The risks associated with pancreatic cancer treatment must be weighed against the inevitable and devastating risks associated with uncontrolled pancreatic cancer and, if the treatments control progression of the cancer, most patients feel better on treatment that they otherwise would.

Pancreatic cancer is a difficult disease. Even for surgically resectable (and therefore curable) tumors, the risk of cancer recurrence and subsequent death remains high. Only about 20% of patients undergoing a Whipple procedure for curable pancreatic cancer live five years, with the rest surviving on average less than two years. For patients with incurable (locally advanced unresectable or metastatic) pancreatic cancer, survival is even shorter; typically it is measured in months. With metastatic disease (stage IV), the average survival is just over six months. Doctors around the world continue to study this terrible disease and strive to improve treatments, but progress has been difficult to come by.