Thanks to screenings that can help detect cancer early and advances in medicine, cancer has become more treatable and the survival rate has increased for several types of cancer. Tea American Cancer Society states, “The risk of dying from cancer in the United States has decreased over the past 28 years according to annual statistics reported by the American Cancer Society (ACS). The cancer death rate for men and women combined fell 32% from its peak in 1991 to 2019, the most recent year for which data were available. Some of this drop appears to be related to an increase in the percentage of people with lung cancer who are living longer after diagnosis, partly because more people are being diagnosed at an early stage of the disease.”
That said, it’s no easy journey to beat cancer and there’s still many types that are difficult to diagnose in the early stages, which decreases the survival rate like pancreatic cancer. Tea ACS explains, “Pancreatic cancer is hard to find early. The pancreas is deep inside the body, so early tumors can’t be seen or felt by health care providers during routine physical exams. People usually have no symptoms until the cancer has become very large or has already spread to other organs.”
This year an estimated “62,210 people (32,970 men and 29,240 women) will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer”, according to the ACS and “About 49,830 people (25,970 men and 23,860 women) will die of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in the US and about 7% of all cancer deaths. It is slightly more common in men than in women .” CNN reports, “About 95% of people with pancreatic cancer die from it, experts say. It’s so lethal because during the early stages, when the tumor would be most treatable, there are usually no symptoms. It tends to be discovered at advanced stages when abdominal pain or jaundice may result. Presently, there are no general screening tools.”
Knowing the risk factors and early symptoms can save your life and Eat This, Not That! Health spoke with experts who share what to know about pancreatic cancer.
