Depending on your diagnosis, your doctor may recommend Whipple surgery, which involves removing the head, or a right-hand portion, of the pancreas, as well as parts of the small intestine, gallbladder, bile duct, and sometimes a portion of the stomach. Other types of surgery for pancreatic cancer include distal pancreatectomy (removal of the tail of the pancreas, as well as the spleen) and total pancreatectomy (removal of the entire pancreas and spleen). If cancer has spread too far to be removed, your doctor may suggest palliative interventions, which cannot cure the disease but instead helps relieve symptoms.