Post by Admin on Mar 8, 2019 13:08:36 GMT -4
Why Alex Trebek’s Form of Pancreatic Cancer Has a Low Survival Rate
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is often deadly, but Trebek says he plans to “fight” it.
Alex Trebek, longstanding Jeopardy! host, revealed he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in a Youtube video.
Trebek said he would “fight” the disease and planned to keep working on the show.
Doctors say pancreatic cancer has a low survival rate, mainly because symptoms are non-specific and virtually invisible until the cancer has spread.
Alex Trebek shared shocking news with fans on Wednesday: He has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
The 78-year-old longstanding host of Jeopardy! revealed his diagnosis in a video shared on the Jeopardy! YouTube channel. “Hi everyone, I have some news to share with all of you. And it’s in keeping with my longtime policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy! fanbase,” he said. “I also wanted to prevent you from reading or hearing some overblown or inaccurate reports regarding my health.”
“So therefore, I wanted to be the one to pass along this information. Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” he continued. Trebek said he would “fight” the disease and planned to keep working on the show, which he’s hosted for the last 35 years. “Now normally the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this and I’m going to keep working,” he said.
After asking for prayers from fans, Trebek also acknowledged that stage 4 pancreatic cancer (the most severe form of pancreatic cancer) doesn’t have a promising survival rate. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), people with stage 4 pancreatic cancer typically have a 3 percent five-year survival rate. “I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease,” he said.
Pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease. About 56,770 people are estimated to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year and about 45,750 people are expected to die of the disease, the ACS says. “As a whole, pancreatic cancer is considered one of the most deadly cancers,” says Anton Bilchik, MD, PhD, professor of surgery and chief of gastrointestinal research at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. “Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is pretty much incurable.”
What is pancreatic cancer, exactly?
Pancreatic cancer is a disease that affects your pancreas, an organ that sits behind your stomach. (Your pancreas secretes digestive juices into your small intestine that helps break down food after it leaves your stomach and secretes insulin, which helps regulate your blood sugar.)
Pancreatic cancer happens when cells in your pancreas start to grow out of control, the ACS explains. There are two different types of pancreatic cancers: Cancer that starts in the exocrine cells (which make pancreatic enzymes that are released into your intestines to help you digest foods) and cancer that starts in the endocrine cells (which make insulin and glucagon, which help control your blood sugar). While Trebek didn’t reveal which form of pancreatic cancer he has, exocrine cancers are the most common form of pancreatic cancer, the ACS says.
What causes pancreatic cancer?
For most people with pancreatic cancer, there’s no known cause, Dr. Bilchik says. However, there does seem to be higher rates of pancreatic cancer in people who are smokers, those who are obese, and people with diabetes, he says. A small percentage of patients have a family history of the disease.
There’s no known way to prevent pancreatic cancer, but the ACS recommends avoiding smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and limiting alcohol use.
What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer?
This is where pancreatic cancer is tricky. “Symptoms can be very vague and non-specific,” says Jack Jacoub, MD, medical oncologist and medical director of MemorialCare Cancer Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif. They generally include weight loss, stomach pain, and bloating—which can also be due to a host of less severe intestinal conditions. But they may also include jaundice (i.e. yellowing of the skin) and back pain.
“The reason that pancreatic cancer is such a deadly disease is that, in most cases, by the time people present with symptoms, the cancer has already spread,” Dr. Bilchik says. “It’s very unusual for it to be detected at an early stage.”
When pancreatic cancer is detected at an early stage, it’s usually by accident. “Usually, someone has a CT scan for another reason, like a scan of the kidneys to look for kidney stones and something is seen in the pancreas,” Dr. Bilchik says.
How is pancreatic cancer treated?
If pancreatic cancer is detected in an earlier stage and doctors think all of the cancer can be removed, they may try to do curative surgery, the ACS says. But even in those who qualify for this surgery, only about one in five will be cured from it, Dr. Jacoub says. For more advanced forms of pancreatic cancer, chemotherapy is generally used, Dr. Jacoub says.
“Up until recently there were only one or two chemotherapy drugs that were shown to be effective,” Dr. Bilchik says. “Now there are a combination of chemotherapy drugs that are shown to prolong people’s lives by weeks or months.”
A pancreatic cancer patient also has the option of being part of a clinical trial, but the results of these so far have been “underwhelming,” Dr. Jacoub says. “There’s been very slow progress in treatment for pancreatic cancer,” he adds.
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot doctors can do to help when someone has advanced pancreatic cancer. “Best case scenario, people with stage 4 pancreatic cancer are expected to survive less than 12 months,” Dr. Bilchik says. “Any person surviving five years is considered extremely rare.”
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is often deadly, but Trebek says he plans to “fight” it.
Alex Trebek, longstanding Jeopardy! host, revealed he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in a Youtube video.
Trebek said he would “fight” the disease and planned to keep working on the show.
Doctors say pancreatic cancer has a low survival rate, mainly because symptoms are non-specific and virtually invisible until the cancer has spread.
Alex Trebek shared shocking news with fans on Wednesday: He has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
The 78-year-old longstanding host of Jeopardy! revealed his diagnosis in a video shared on the Jeopardy! YouTube channel. “Hi everyone, I have some news to share with all of you. And it’s in keeping with my longtime policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy! fanbase,” he said. “I also wanted to prevent you from reading or hearing some overblown or inaccurate reports regarding my health.”
“So therefore, I wanted to be the one to pass along this information. Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” he continued. Trebek said he would “fight” the disease and planned to keep working on the show, which he’s hosted for the last 35 years. “Now normally the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this and I’m going to keep working,” he said.
After asking for prayers from fans, Trebek also acknowledged that stage 4 pancreatic cancer (the most severe form of pancreatic cancer) doesn’t have a promising survival rate. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), people with stage 4 pancreatic cancer typically have a 3 percent five-year survival rate. “I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease,” he said.
Pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease. About 56,770 people are estimated to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year and about 45,750 people are expected to die of the disease, the ACS says. “As a whole, pancreatic cancer is considered one of the most deadly cancers,” says Anton Bilchik, MD, PhD, professor of surgery and chief of gastrointestinal research at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. “Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is pretty much incurable.”
What is pancreatic cancer, exactly?
Pancreatic cancer is a disease that affects your pancreas, an organ that sits behind your stomach. (Your pancreas secretes digestive juices into your small intestine that helps break down food after it leaves your stomach and secretes insulin, which helps regulate your blood sugar.)
Pancreatic cancer happens when cells in your pancreas start to grow out of control, the ACS explains. There are two different types of pancreatic cancers: Cancer that starts in the exocrine cells (which make pancreatic enzymes that are released into your intestines to help you digest foods) and cancer that starts in the endocrine cells (which make insulin and glucagon, which help control your blood sugar). While Trebek didn’t reveal which form of pancreatic cancer he has, exocrine cancers are the most common form of pancreatic cancer, the ACS says.
What causes pancreatic cancer?
For most people with pancreatic cancer, there’s no known cause, Dr. Bilchik says. However, there does seem to be higher rates of pancreatic cancer in people who are smokers, those who are obese, and people with diabetes, he says. A small percentage of patients have a family history of the disease.
There’s no known way to prevent pancreatic cancer, but the ACS recommends avoiding smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and limiting alcohol use.
What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer?
This is where pancreatic cancer is tricky. “Symptoms can be very vague and non-specific,” says Jack Jacoub, MD, medical oncologist and medical director of MemorialCare Cancer Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif. They generally include weight loss, stomach pain, and bloating—which can also be due to a host of less severe intestinal conditions. But they may also include jaundice (i.e. yellowing of the skin) and back pain.
“The reason that pancreatic cancer is such a deadly disease is that, in most cases, by the time people present with symptoms, the cancer has already spread,” Dr. Bilchik says. “It’s very unusual for it to be detected at an early stage.”
When pancreatic cancer is detected at an early stage, it’s usually by accident. “Usually, someone has a CT scan for another reason, like a scan of the kidneys to look for kidney stones and something is seen in the pancreas,” Dr. Bilchik says.
How is pancreatic cancer treated?
If pancreatic cancer is detected in an earlier stage and doctors think all of the cancer can be removed, they may try to do curative surgery, the ACS says. But even in those who qualify for this surgery, only about one in five will be cured from it, Dr. Jacoub says. For more advanced forms of pancreatic cancer, chemotherapy is generally used, Dr. Jacoub says.
“Up until recently there were only one or two chemotherapy drugs that were shown to be effective,” Dr. Bilchik says. “Now there are a combination of chemotherapy drugs that are shown to prolong people’s lives by weeks or months.”
A pancreatic cancer patient also has the option of being part of a clinical trial, but the results of these so far have been “underwhelming,” Dr. Jacoub says. “There’s been very slow progress in treatment for pancreatic cancer,” he adds.
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot doctors can do to help when someone has advanced pancreatic cancer. “Best case scenario, people with stage 4 pancreatic cancer are expected to survive less than 12 months,” Dr. Bilchik says. “Any person surviving five years is considered extremely rare.”
