The tragedy of pancreatic cancer is that in 80 percent of cases, it is only diagnosed after it spreads to other parts of the body, which explains why it is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. Dr. Madappa Kundranda,PhD, a medical oncologist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Western Regional Medical Center, was a guest on http://radiomd.com’s ‘Managing Cancer” radio show, where he noted that according to the American Cancer Society, the rates of pancreatic cancer have been slowly increasing over the past 10 years, and today it is the 10th most common cancer..

“The danger of pancreatic cancer is that there is not an effective screening method, so by the time we see patients exhibiting signs of this cancer, which includes back ache, fatigue, weight loss and jaundice, it has usually spread to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes,” said Dr. Kundranda, .whose main focus is on patients with gastrointestinal cancers, but he also treats a variety of other types of advanced-stage and complex cancers.

Dr. Kundranda noted that pancreatic cancer is diagnosed through blood tests and radiological testing, and if a growth is identified early, it can be resected and the cancer is eliminated. Stage 4 cancers require surgery, radiology and chemotherapy.

“The key to treatment is taking a multi-disciplinary approach, involving professionals in many fields, including therapists and dieticians, who can help enhance the performance of patients in everyday tasks to improve range of movement and reduce pain,” concluded Dr. Kundranda.

The “Managing Cancer” show is hosted by Melanie Cole, MS and can be heard on http://radiomd.com, and this particular show is in the archive on located here.

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– Submitted by David Brimm