| Pancreas |
An oblong organ
located between the stomach and the spine. The pancreas secretes
enzymes needed for the digestion of food
and it produces hormones such as insulin and glucagon which help control
blood sugar. |
| Palliative |
Any treatment
that reduces the severity of a disease or its symptoms. |
| Papillary |
A term used
to describe certain tumors which grow in finger-like projections. Pathologists
mostly use this term. |
| Pathologist |
A medical doctor
specially trained to study disease processes. |
| Peri-ampullary |
Around the
ampulla of Vater. The peri-ampullary region
is comprised of 4 structures; the ampulla,
the duodenum,
the bile duct
and the head of
the pancreas. It is sometimes difficult to tell which structure a tumor
originated in. In such cases the diagnosis will be a peri-ampullary tumor.
|
| Phytochemistry |
The biochemical study of plants; concerned with the identification, biosynthesis,
metabolism of chemical constituents of plants; especially in regards to natural products. |
| Primary cancer |
A cancer in the
organ it started in. A primary cancer of the pancreas is one that started
in the pancreas as oppossed to a cancer that started somewhere else and
only later spread to the pancreas. |
| Prognosis |
A forecast for
the probable outcome of a disease based on the experience of large numbers
of other patients with similar stage disease. Importantly, making a prognosis
is not an exact science. Some patients with poor prognosis beat the odds
and live longer than anyone would have predicted. Steve Dunn's Cancer Guide
has an excellent
article on statistics and prognoses
and stories
of other cancer patients. |
| Pylorus |
A thick ring
of muscle (a sphincter) between the stomach and duodenum. This sphincter
helps control the release of the stomach contents into the small intestine. |
| Radiation Therapy |
The use of
high-energy waves similar to x-rays to treat a cancer. Radiation therapy
is usually used to treat a local area of disease and often is given in
combination with chemotherapy. |
| Resectable |
Able to be removed
surgically. |
| Sarcoma |
A malignant
tumor that mimics connective tissues (bone, cartilage, muscle) under the
microscope. |
| Sepsis |
An infection
of the blood. |
| Small
intestine |
A long (20 foot)
tube that stretches from the stomach to the large intestine. It helps absorb
nutrients from food as the food is transported to the large intestine.
There are three sections: the duodenum, the jejunum and the ileum. Due
to its proximity to the pancreas, the duodenum is the section most often
affected by pancreatic cancer. |
| Spleen |
A maroon, rounded
organ in the upper left part of the abdomen, near the tail of the pancreas.
This organ is part of your immune system and filters the lymph and blood
in your body. |
| Squamous
cell |
A flat, scale-like
cell. |
| Stage |
A classification
system used to describe the extent of disease. For pancreatic cancer:
Stage I refers to tumors confined to the pancreas and tumors which have
only extended into the duodenum, bile duct or soft tissues immediately
around the pancreas.
Stage II cancers have extended into the spleen, stomach, large intestine
or adjacent large vessels.
Stage III tumors have spread to regional lymph nodes and
Stage IV have spread (metastasized) to distant sites such as the liver.
In general, the lower the stage, the better the prognosis. |
| Steatorrhea |
Excessive amounts
of fat in the stool. Sometimes this can appear as an oil slick on top of
the toilet water after the patient has had a bowel movement. |
| Stent |
A slender hollow
tube inserted into the body to relieve a blockage. For example, pancreas
cancers often grow into the bile duct as it passes through the pancreas.
This can block the flow of bile
and cause the patient to become jaundiced. In these cases the flow of bile
can be reestablished by placing a stent into the bile duct, through the
area of blockage. |
| Reference: The Johns
Hopkins Family Health Book; Michael J. Klag Editor, Harper Collins Pub.,
1999. |
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