General Surgery Specialist Prof. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan explained 5 points that should be known about pancreatic cancer, and made important warnings and suggestions in order to raise social awareness against this insidious disease.
The pancreas, which is located in the form of leaves in our body, provides the enzymes necessary for the digestion of fat and carbohydrates, and regulates the sugar level in the blood. Today, due to unhealthy living habits, inactivity, smoking and alcohol use, healthy cells in the pancreas get out of control and multiply rapidly, causing pancreatic cancer.
Acıbadem University General Surgery Department Faculty Member and Acıbadem Maslak Hospital General Surgery Specialist Prof. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan says that pancreatic cancer, the incidence of which has increased in recent years, progresses insidiously and without any symptoms, and in advanced stages, it manifests itself with complaints that are common symptoms of different diseases such as abdominal pain, nausea, indigestion and low back pain.
prof. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan stated that the disease progressed insidiously.
Pancreatic cancer, which has become more and more widespread in recent years, draws attention as the 4th most deadly cancer type today, and is expected to rise to the 2030nd rank in 2. Stating that pancreatic cancer usually progresses without symptoms, Prof. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan “It is generally thought that the disease causes severe pain in the society. However, this insidious disease can develop without pain, contrary to popular belief, and studies show that it does not cause pain in one of every two patients. However, in advanced stages, it manifests itself with complaints such as back pain or bloating, abdominal pain, indigestion, which can be confused with low back pain. The complaint of pain usually develops when the tumor presses on the nerves above the surrounding vessels and injures them. We see pancreatic cancer in early or late stages in patients diagnosed with jaundice," he says.
prof. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan says that it is very important to reach the ideal weight by losing excess weight in a healthy way, to exercise regularly, to eat healthy and to consume fiber foods, to apply a Mediterranean diet instead of a Western type diet, and to avoid smoking and alcohol.
prof. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan used the expressions "pancreatic cancer equals death not death"
Emphasizing that significant progress has been made in the treatment of pancreatic cancer in recent years, Prof. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan said, “We are now able to treat and operate on patients that we could not treat in the past and that we thought we could not operate on. These are usually pancreatic cancers that surround the vessels and are very common. In the past, we could only give chemotherapy to patients, and we could not get rid of the disease. But now, together with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, we have very serious agents and effective weapons. Thus, with the joint work of a multidisciplinary team, we can keep the tumor under control and operate on patients that we did not expect, even in patients who have enlarged the vein and are called 'inoperable'. The survival of the patients can also be prolonged as if they did not wrap their veins. So pancreatic cancer doesn't equal death anymore," he says.
Stating that sudden diabetes in a healthy person can also indicate pancreatic cancer, Prof. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan made the following statement:
“The sudden diagnosis of diabetes by people who do not have any health problems and do not have a history of diabetes should also bring to mind pancreatic cancer. For this reason, tests for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer should be done without losing any time. However, the belief that pancreatic cancer does not always cause diabetes or that every long-term diabetes patient is at high risk is not true.”
Ceyhan emphasized that it is also common among young people today.
Stating that unfortunately there is no screening program for pancreatic cancer today, therefore, there is not much opportunity for early diagnosis. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan states that pancreatic cancer, which used to be a disease only seen in advanced ages, has also emerged in young people in recent years due to unhealthy living habits. Emphasizing that those with pancreatic cancer in their family at a young age are also at higher risk, and that adopting a healthy lifestyle is of critical importance, Prof. Dr. Güralp Onur Ceyhan “At the same time, since consanguineous marriages are common in Turkey, we unfortunately encounter more familial genetic pancreatic cancer than in Europe, and thus patients get this disease at a much earlier age.” says.
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