How to treat pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer has very mild symptoms in the early stages of the disease, making diagnosis very difficult. By the time the disease is confirmed, most cases have already metastasized to the liver, peritoneum, or duodenum. Due to late discovery and diagnosis, pancreatic and duodenal resections are not possible, and radiotherapy and chemotherapy are not effective, making treatment difficult.

(1) Surgical treatment: In the early stage, surgical treatment is the main treatment. When the cancer is in the head of the pancreas and is in a relatively early stage, radical surgery such as pancreatic and duodenal resection can be performed. For patients who cannot remove the tumor, palliative surgery such as cholecystojejunostomy or bile duct jejunostomy should be performed to relieve jaundice.

(2) Radiotherapy: For patients who cannot undergo resection but whose tumors are localized, radiotherapy can be used. The median survival is 6-10 months, and few patients can survive for 2 years. External irradiation can be used to relieve pain, and 1/3-1/2 of patients can relieve pain for 3-6 months. Radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy has prolonged the median survival in most cases. Radiotherapy should generally be used before surgery or when pain occurs.

In addition, psychological treatment, acupuncture treatment, massage treatment, enema treatment, symptomatic treatment, and diet adjustment can also be used. For example, the following dietary treatments can be taken according to the condition. These dietary treatments include rattan pear root eggs, corn juice, coix seed soup, and bamboo juice.