Pancreatic cancer — the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States — occurs when malignant cells develop in the pancreas. the National Cancer Institute estimated that in 2012, approximately 43,920 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and 37,390 people will die from the disease. Within the first year of diagnosis, 75 percent of pancreatic cancer patients die, according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

CausesThe pancreas is a central component to one’s digestive system. At about 6 inches in length, it secretes hormones and juices that aid in digesting food. when abnormal mutations develop in the DNA of the pancreas, as with other cancers, the cells grow uncontrollably until they become a tumor. Various factors increase your risk of developing the disease: smoking, obesity, diabetes and a family history of pancreatic cancer. It afflicts more people of African descent than other races.

If the cancer begins in the duct of the pancreas, it is called pancreatic adenocarcinoma or pancreatic exocrine cancer. If it begins in the pancreas’ hormone-producing cells, it is called islet cell cancer or pancreatic endocrine cancer, reports the Mayo Clinic.

SymptomsPeople rarely detect signs of the disease in its early stages. They typically only manifest when the disease reaches an advanced state. These signs include upper abdominal pain, appetite loss, depression, weight loss, jaundice, digestive problems, gallbladder enlargement and blood clots, according to the American Cancer Society.

DiagnosisDiagnosis necessitates a thorough physical exam that focuses on the abdomen as well as imaging tests (a CAT scan, MRI, ultrasound and more) and blood tests. If these demonstrate a strong likelihood of pancreatic cancer, a surgeon will perform a biopsy. the most common type performed is a fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy, in which the doctor inserts a needle into the pancreas to retrieve small tissue samples.

If one is diagnosed, John Affronti, gastroenterologist at Loyola University Medical Center, recommended seeking treatment at a center that offers a multidisciplinary approach. this enables the patient to benefit from oncologists, gastroenterologists, radiologists, surgeons and other specialists all at the same time.

TreatmentEven when caught early, pancreatic cancer spreads rapidly. Treatments include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and a variety of surgeries: stents, biliary and gastric bypass, total pancreatectomy, distal pancreatectomy and Whipple procedure, the most commonly performed surgery. Dr. Gerard Aranha, a surgical oncologist at Loyola University Medical Center, said under certain circumstances, the Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy), could cure the disease.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network explained that the surgeon removes the head of the pancreas, portions of the duodenum and stomach, the gallbladder and the nearby lymph nodes. next, the surgeon reconnects the remaining pancreas with the digestive organs. “Many patients who could benefit from a Whipple procedure are not being offered the operation,” Aranha said.

New chemotherapy drugs are shrinking some advanced tumors, once considered inoperable, to surgically-removable sizes, explained Margo Shoup, a surgical oncologist at Loyola University Medical Center.

For more information visit the Lustgarten Foundation or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

LITTLE COMPTON — a little over 67 weeks after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on February 3, 2010, Peter Washburn of little Compton will gather the strength to walk five kilometers this Sunday, may 15, through Goddard Park in Warwick.

The occasion is the state’s first walk-a-thon for pancreatic cancer. Sponsored by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, PurpleStride Rhode Island 2011 aims “to promote awareness and to raise funds for pancreatic research.”

Mr. Washburn’s participation is special; he has already beaten the odds. “About 75 percent of people diagnosed die in the first year after diagnosis,” he said. “Unfortunately ‘pan can’ is not a sexy disease. most people do not have symptoms until it’s too late.”

He won’t walk alone. mr. Washburn has already recruited 95 people to participate with him, and had raised $10,175 for the cause. 

“Pancreatic cancer is the fourth largest cancer killer that exists,” mr. Washburn said. “Over 42,000 people will get diagnosed this year, 38,000 will die. It is the only cancer among the 10 most deadly that has a five-year survival rate still in single digits, a rate that last year advanced from five percent to six percent.”

The first symptom he noticed early 2010 was “heartburn for a month.” He put off seeing his doctor until he got back from a trip to San Diego. When he returned, his wife told him he “looked yellow.”

So on February 3, 2010, he finally went to see his doctor. “Within three hours I had my blood work and a CT scan done, and knew what I was up against,” mr. Washburn wrote on the eve of surgery a week later in a remarkable journal — over 100 pages long and growing — that he began when he was diagnosed, and continues to maintain online (at caringbridge.org/visit/peterwashburn).

In his journal a week later, and on the eve of surgery scheduled for February 10, 2010, mr. Washburn wrote of his plight. “While there’s a 95% chance it’s a cancerous tumor on my pancreas, it cut off the liver duct and turned me yellow. so I am one of the lucky ones with pancreatic cancer. I got an early warning. most people do not, and it often is a death sentence.”

His surgery did not go as hoped. Six to eight hours in, the lengthy operation had to be aborted. the cancer had spread to the liver, his gallbladder “was the size of an eggplant,” and the tumor was so extensive that removing it, he wrote later, was “not an option.”

Mr. Washburn, 57, is an accountant and financial planner. His wife, Sue, is a project manager in the field of educational development. They live on a hill overlooking Quicksand Pond to the west, in a remote little Compton setting populated by coyotes, rabbits, deer, wild turkeys, groundhogs, osprey and hawks.

His professional instincts, and the natural setting in which he lives, perhaps fuel the approach he has taken to his cancer. “My hope was taken away for the last time at the end of March 2010, when a doctor friend who was also a client, told me I’m not going to beat it. He didn’t want to give me false hope. but someone has to make up the survivor statistics, so why not me? That’s what I believe and that’s what my wife believes.

“It was that day with my doctor that I made an immediate note to prepare for and envision a long life. If I didn’t have that attitude or vision, I knew I wouldn’t beat it. about 75 percent of us don’t make it out of the first year, and only six percent of us survive five years or more,” he said. “In my opinion someone has to make that six percent.”

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Since diagnosis mr. Washburn has pursued a treatment regimen that includes medications, chemotherapy pills and guided imagery. Less standard treatments involve qigong, reiki, massage, acupuncture, yoga, meditation, and a variety of homeopathic remedies that he gets through a naturopathic doctor. He said he is not in remission; he’s “actively being treated.” 

His main symptom, he says, and the most difficult aspect of the disease for him, “is extreme fatigue, tiredness, and a loss of appetite. I’m lucky. For others it’s extreme pain.”

This Saturday at the walk in Goddard Park, mr. Washburn said, “”I’ll be wearing a survivor’s shirt.”

Research funding for pancreatic cancer is scant, he said.  “Last year, breast cancer, which has a 67% five-year survival rate thanks to research, received $500 million dollars for research from the National Cancer Institute. Pancreatic cancer research received only $96 million, even though almost the same number of people died from both cancers,” he said.

One major deficiency, that he says research might help develop, is a screening test for pancreatic cancer.

At present, the federal government has no long-term comprehensive research strategy to combat pancreatic cancer,” says the PanCan Network. With the help of Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, legislation — the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act — has been introduced in Congress to help improve research funding. the PanCan Network says, “funding is directly correlated to the survivor rates.”

Purple Stride and more:

• Purple Stride Sunday, may 15 — Begins and ends at carousel near the beach in Goddard Park in Warwick. Registration at 7:30 a.m.; opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. Food, music, raffles, vendors, children’s activities, and more, sponsors say. Website: kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=464980

• Peter Washburn’s journal: caringbridge.org/visit/peterwashburn

• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: pancan.org

Research, patient support, advocacy, creating hope, news updates.

• Lustgarten Foundation: lustgarten.org

Treatment options, information, research, and fundraising.

Scranton, Lackawanna County-

A tasty treat is helping battle a deadly disease in Lackawanna County. Pizza by Pappas is raising money for pancreatic cancer research.

Mary Coolican’s family knows the hurt the deadly disease can cause.

Coolican recalled, “My mother died of pancreatic cancer at age 61, and had no symptoms before she got sick.”

So Coolican became a volunteer with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. now she’s teaming up with the crew at Pizza by Pappas on Washington Avenue in Scranton.

Pizza by Pappas Co-Owner Bill Sheakoski remarked, “It’s really a terrible cancer. they all are. But I mean, this is one that really deserves the recognition and the awareness that hopefully fundraisers like ours can provide.”

Organizers tell us 50% of every pizza purchase here Tuesday and Wednesday will help out the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. so the more pizzas you buy, the better.

And even though pancreatic cancer has only a 6% survival rate, volunteers say money for research is severely lacking.

Coolican explained, “It is one of the least funded by the National Cancer Institute. I think they only receive 2% of the funding. Yet it’s the fourth deadliest cancer in the United States.”

Sheakoski noted, “They don’t always get the recognition that a lot of the other organizations do. And we just wanted to help out.”

So Pizza by Pappas is encouraging everyone to swing by for a pizza pie. Their goal is to unload at least 1,000 pizzas over the next two days to help fight pancreatic cancer.

Sheakoski added, “It’s a win-win situation. It’s the easiest fundraiser you can do. We don’t ask you for anything. just come down- have lunch, have dinner- and we’ll donate the money on your behalf.”

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will also host a Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Night on November 27th.

For more information on this deadly disease, just head to pancan.org.