Are you becoming a pancreatic cancer expert? My hope for you is that you never need this information but it is here for you. We have covered symptoms, test and risk factors and now we need to talk about treatments. Pancreatic cancer is has a low survivability rate because of the fact that it is usually diagnosed after it has spread and therefor it is in a later stage for diagnosis. However pancreatic cancer does have low survival rates. For exocrine pancreatic cancer if you are diagnosed with stage 1A your 5 year survival rate is only 14% and that … Continue reading →

SO far we have talked about risk factors, symptoms and types of pancreatic cancer so today we are going to talk about some of the tests that are run to check for pancreatic cancer. The first is the computer tomography scan also known as a CT scan. Now most people have heard of a CT it is a very common test. You simply lay on a table and a CT scanner sits over you and internal parts of the machine rotate around the area being scanned. Now if you are like me you would be thinking ugh I hate CT’s … Continue reading →

During the last entry we went over some of the risk factors for pancreatic cancer. Today I would like to talk about some of the symptoms that you should be watching for. Please keep in mind that even if you have symptoms please do not jump to the conclusion that you have cancer there are many diseases that have the same symptoms. The purpose of this is to make you aware to be your best advocate. See your doctor to rule out the cancer. The first symptom you should be on the lookout for is if your skin tone turns … Continue reading →

When you hear someone has cancer you may have many questions about what they are feeling and how their cancer was found. What I am going to do is go through some of the different types of cancers and what the symptoms are so if you notice some of them that you will make the call to the doctor. The first cancer I am going to talk about is PANCREATIC CANCER. Pancreatic cancer has been in the news the last few years some well known people. Pancreatic cancer has taken the life of Patrick Swayze,Steve Jobs, Michael Landon, Count Basie, … Continue reading →

Many people know of cancer but many do not know what cancer really is. Hopefully this will help clear some of the questions up for you. Cancer forms when abnormal cells grow. Abnormal cells are formed when the DNA in the cell becomes damaged. The damage to the cells can be damaged due to genetic reasons; environmental influences, smoking and many other not clear reasons. . These abnormal cells turn into cancer cells they grow and create more abnormal cells and the abnormal cells can invade tissue and organs. The reason for the abnormal cells cannot be determined this part … Continue reading →

When you finish cancer treatment people will think that the worrying stops and that it was a page from a book that is closed. The reality is much different than everyone’s perception. The fact is that the fear never goes away. The possibility that the cancer can be somewhere in your body is just too scary to ignore. I have a friend from high school who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer a few years before I was. She had a recurrence a few years later and has now been cancer free for about 5 or 6 … Continue reading →

When you are a cancer survivor or if someone you love is you know the worries never really go away. The worries may lessen or find a new place in your mind but they never go away. Today I am going to tell you something personal; shocking I know; well it is not about me it’s my husband. As I have shared before in 2004 my husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. This week my husband mentioned that his remaining one was feeling a bit tender. Now of course my first thought was crud not cancer again. My mind automatically … Continue reading →

Well today I want to talk about a wonderful thing that my high school graduating class is doing for one of our own. As I have mentioned in previous entries we have a high number of cancer in our city and in our graduating class. For women under the age of 40 breast cancer is supposed to be a rare occurrence yet in our class has a very high occurrence rate. The graduating class of Woonsocket Senior High Class of 1988 is rallying to help one of our own. Right now a 41 year old class mate Michelle is in … Continue reading →

I found out not long ago one of my oldest friends has cancer. I don’t mean to imply that we are terribly close by saying “oldest friends.” I’ve known him since I was 9. He is two years older than me, the older brother of a friend with whom I took piano lessons. However, he and I had reconnected through Facebook a couple of years ago. We had a shared memory of taking judo lessons together. He was still participating in judo. I gave it up at age 14 when it suddenly became legal to choke me during a tournament. … Continue reading →

I have a dilemma and I am not sure what to do. My friend just found out that one of her oldest friend’s husband has stage 3 prostate cancer which has metastasized to his bladder. The gentleman is in his 70’s and he does not want to do treatment if it is not going to make a huge difference in his survival time. She called to ask me how rough the chemo therapy and radiation therapy is. Now I was brutally honest with her. I explained that when my husband had his abdomen radiated for testicular cancer (generally the same … Continue reading →