Yes, pancreatic CA is a real bear. It doesn't really grow any
faster than most other epithelial cancers, unlike the high-grade
lymphomas that can explode over night, but because of its location and
often subtle symptoms it often makes its initial presentation at a very
advanced stage. Long term survival rates are dismal (<5% at 5 years),
it's hard to operate on being located deep in the retroperitoneum
cheek-to-jowl with the stomach, duodenum and spleen (surgeons have a
saying that if God had meant for them to operate on the pancreas He
wouldn't have put it where he did), and responds poorly to
chemo/radiation. To make matters even worse it sits right atop the
vertebral column so it frequently invades the spinal cord and roots
resulting in bad pain. It is a real bitch. Wish I knew what the hell
caused it so I could give it up.
Charlie
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