General Medical Advices

Archive for the ‘Pancreatic cancer’ Category

The pancreas plays an important role in the digestive process, producing essential enzymes in the digestion of food. The other function of the pancreas, which can be described as “control of fuel,” is to produce insulin, which affects people with diabetes.

Over 95% of the cells of the pancreas are exocrine glands, which produces pancreatic juice that contains enzymes that break down fats and proteins in food so that nutrients can be absorbed by the small intestine and used by the body to tissue repair or to promote growth.

Ducts are called exocrine pancreatic juice to the common bile duct and, eventually, the small intestine. Only a small percentage of cells in the pancreas are endocrine glands, arranged in small groups or clusters called islets of Langerhans. Islet cells release three hormones (insulin, glucagon and somatostatin) which allow the body to metabolize (break down and digest) food. Also regulate the body makes use of glucose, which is the energy source for many of the daily activities of all cells.

When the pancreas is functioning normally, the blood glucose concentration varies in response to a wide variety of events, stress or infections, but remains in its normal limits.

Used four kinds of treatment:

* 1. Surgery. You can use surgery to remove the tumor. The doctor may remove the cancer using any of the following:

Whipple operation, during which removes the head of pancreas, part of the small intestine and some surrounding tissue. It leaves a sufficient portion of the pancreas to the body continues to produce digestive juices and insulin. Read the rest of this entry »

Over 90% of patients have generally the following:

* Pain in the upper or middle abdomen
* Jaundice (yellow skin)
* Weight Loss
* Nausea.

Other symptoms may also occur, as the case are:

* Acute pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
* Diabetes mellitus Read the rest of this entry »

People who drink two or more sugary soft drinks per week have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, a rare and deadly tumor.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota made up to 60,524 men and women in the Chinese Health Study in Singapore for 14 years, time during which 140 volunteers developed the disease.

Those who consumed the amount of soda had 87% higher risk of developing pancreatic tumor. Those who drank more fruit juice than soft drinks did not have the same risk.

It should be that high levels of sugar in soft drinks may increase the level of insulin produced by the body, contributing to the pancreatic cancer cells grow, said Mark Pereira, director of the study.

A can of soda contains approximately 355 milliliters of 130 calories, almost all sugar.

“Singapore is a rich country with an excellent health care system.’s Favorite pastimes are eating and shopping, so the findings should be applicable to other Western countries,” added Pereira.

Other studies have linked pancreatic cancer with red meat, especially the burnt or charred. Read the rest of this entry »