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Pancreatic cancer is one of the least treatable of internal organ solid tumors. It is rarely detected at the stage when it can be cured in a surgical operation known as the Whipple Procedure, it is totally resistant to radiation therapy and poorly responsive to chemotherapy.

The causes of pancreatic cancer are unknown except in those cases where there is a specific inherited genetic mutation that predisposes to development of the disease. The genetic form strikes younger people, while the majority of pancreatic cancers are found in people over age 60.

The 5-year survival rate is less than 5%, and the average survival time from diagnosis to death is about 4 months. The disease kills by metastasizing to the liver and other organs, causing them to fail.

There is an experimental vaccine against pancreatic cancer that is currently being tested, but it is at least several years away from being completely evaluated for human use.

One well-known survivor of pancreatic cancer is Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Computer, who was fortunate to be diagnosed early and had successful surgery. Some well-known and less fortunate victims of the disease were Bill Bixby, Michael Landon, Jack Benny and the father, brother and sister of former President Jimmy Carter.

More information about this terrible disease can be obtained from the Lustgarten Foundation whose website is: www.lustgartenfoundation.org

Learn more about this author, Martin W. Schwartz.
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