It may come back in the pancreas or in another part of the body. How cancer of the pancreas is treated There are treatments for all patients with cancer of the pancreas. Surgery may be used to take out the tumor. Enough of the pancreas is left to continue making digestive juices and insulin. Total pancreatectomy takes out the whole pancreas, part of the small intestine, part of the stomach, the bile duct, the gallbladder, spleen, and most of the lymph nodes in the area.
Distal pancreatectomy takes out the body and tail of the pancreas.
If the cancer has spread and it cannot be removed, the doctor may do surgery to relieve symptoms. During this operation, the doctor will cut the gallbladder or bile duct and sew it to the small intestine. This is called biliary bypass. During these procedures, the doctor may make the catheter drain through a tube to the outside of the body or the catheter may go around the blocked area and drain the bile to the small intestine. In addition, if the cancer is blocking the flow of food from the stomach, the stomach may be sewn directly to the small intestine so the patient can continue to eat normally.