Pasadena CyberKnife Blog

We encourage our patients to tell their story!

5 Pancreatic Cancer Myths, Busted

5 Pancreatic Cancer Myths, Busted

5 Pancreatic Cancer Myths Busted 1Pancreatic cancer has a bad reputation. It’s known for being one of the most difficult cancers to treat, in part because its early symptoms can be so difficult to pinpoint. Symptoms like jaundice, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, weight loss and general weakness can be indicative of a range of health problems — they aren’t necessarily pancreatic cancer. Plus, there’s no basic diagnostic test that can help physicians screen for pancreatic cancer. Myths about this scary form of cancer abound, but it’s important that you have the facts about pancreatic cancer if you want to defeat it.

Myth 1: Pancreatic Cancer Is Always Deadly

Let’s get this damaging myth out of the way first. Pancreatic cancer is not always deadly — far from it. Like other forms of cancer, early detection is the key to successful treatment. Five-year survival rates are highest among those who are diagnosed early, and advances in pancreatic cancer treatment have made the disease much more survivable than it has been in the past. If you’re worried about developing pancreatic cancer, don’t be — it’s a relatively rare form of cancer, occurring in about 30,000 people a year. Just five to ten percent of cases are hereditary.

Myth 2: Pancreatic Cancer Screening Tests Are Available and Common

Unfortunately, pancreatic cancer screening tests are not commonly done. In fact, researchers have not yet developed an easy and accurate way to screen for pancreatic cancer. Unlike prostate or breast cancers, for example, there’s no blood test or specific imaging procedure that can reliably detect this cancer. CT scans can detect prostate tumors, but only a biopsy can determine if those tumors are cancerous.

Myth 3: There Is Only One Kind of Prostate Cancer

There are actually two kinds of pancreatic cancer. The vast majority — 95 percent — of pancreatic cancers are of a type known as adenocarcinoma. These tumors arise in the ductal cells that line the pancreatic ducts. The other, rarer form of pancreatic cancer occurs in the islets of Langerhans, the cells of the pancreas itself, where insulin is made. Cancer in these cells is known as islet-cell pancreatic cancer.

Myth 4: You Should Avoid Physical Contact with Others During Radiation Therapy

5 Pancreatic Cancer Myths Busted 2This myth arose out of an understandable concern that radiation treatment could actually make a patient radioactive, placing his or her friends and loved ones at risk. However, the radiation used to treat pancreatic cancer doesn’t hang around in the body.

Once you have finished a treatment session, you can feel free to go home and hug your loved ones at will. They are not at risk of being exposed to radiation because you are going through treatment. Physical contact with loved ones can be beneficial for all of you.

Myth 5: Surgery Makes Pancreatic Cancer More Likely to Spread

Lots of people know somebody who received surgery for pancreatic cancer, or another type of cancer, only to find that their cancer metastasized after surgery. However, it’s a myth that surgery for pancreatic cancer can cause it to spread by exposing the cancer to the air or lowering immunity. Surgery can’t cause cancer to spread, but it can prevent it from spreading.

The more you know about pancreatic cancer, the better your chances of recovering from it. With early detection and the right treatment plan, you can put pancreatic cancer behind you — where it belongs.