Before starting treatment, patients might want another physician to review the diagnosis and treatment plan. The patient's physician may be able to suggest a doctor who has a special interest in cancer of the pancreas. Patients can obtain the names of doctors from their local medical society, a nearby hospital or a medical school. Otherwise, it is very difficult to cure. It can, however, be treated so that symptoms can be relieved and the quality of the patient's life improved.
Pancreatic cancer is treated with surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Sometimes, several methods are combined, and the patient is referred to physicians who specialize in the different kinds of treatment. Surgery may remove all or part of the pancreas. Sometimes, it's also necessary to remove a portion of the stomach, the upper part of the small intestine and other nearby tissues. When the cancer in the pancreas can't be removed, the surgeon may be able to create a bypass around the common bile duct or the upper part of the small intestine, if either is blocked. Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, uses high-powered rays to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing.