The Banchik Family Library and the Feldman Family Audiovisual Center provide numerous resources, including books, videos, and audiotapes on all aspects of cancer care and treatment. Both libraries contain TVs, VCRs, and computers with Internet connections. Patients are also referred to other community resources, such as physical therapists, nutritionists, and psychiatrists. About ninety-five percent of pancreas cancer begins in the pancreas exocrine glands that produce the digestive juices which help break down food. Rarely, cancer begins in the endocrine pancreas, the area that produces hormones which regulate how the body stores and uses food.
Doctors universally refer to the spread of pancreas cancer by stages.
Stages I and II are early stages of pancreas cancer. Stages III and IV are more advanced. Stage I Cancer is limited to the pancreas. Stage II Cancer has spread to nearby organs, such as the duodenum, bile duct, or other tissue directly around the pancreas. Stage III Cancer has spread to the regional lymph nodes.