November Is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

Patient and Doctor Discuss Living with Pancreatic Cancer Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest and most difficult to treat cancers, yet very few people know about it. This year, the American Cancer Society predicts that more than 37,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and about 90 percent of these will die of the disease. November is the perfect time to educate your listeners about this deadly disease.not only is it pancreatic cancer awareness month but the internationally heralded Luciano Pavarotti recently lost his battle with this disease-making it a particularly timely topic. Pancreatic cancer is often resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and tends to spread quickly to other parts of the body, leading to high mortality and short life expectancy. In fact, pancreatic cancer carries an average life expectancy of only 3 to 6 months. But treatment advances are helping some patients, like Gordon Reid live beyond those statistics. There are four main types of treatment for cancer of the pancreas: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Depending on the stage of the cancer, two or even three of these types of treatment could be given – either at the same time or one after the other. During this interview, pancreatic patient Gordon Reid will discuss his personal journey with diagnosis and treatment and Dr. Perez will discuss the current landscape of pancreatic cancer. For more information about pancreatic cancer, visit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Web site at http://www.pancan.org www.pancan.org or call 877-272-6226. Gordon Reid, a 50-year-old grandfather of two with pancreatic cancer, was diagnosed in September 2006 and told that he only had 3 – 4 weeks to live. Enrique A. Perez, MD, Patient’s comprehensive cancer center and McKinney regional cancer center, all part of the Texas Hematology/Oncology Network. https://videos.whiteblox.com/gnb/secure/player.aspx?sid=35254