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Homoeopathic Treatment for Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic Cancer occurs when malignant cells forms in the pancreas. Pancreas is a gland which is located in the abdomen behind the lower part of the stomach. Pancreatic cancer affects the pancreas, an organ near the gallbladder that plays a key role in digestion.Uploaded Image

The pancreas is a 6-inch long organ located behind the stomach in the back of the abdomen, near the gall bladder.

It contains glands that create pancreatic juices, hormones, and insulin.

Cancer can affect either the endocrine or the exocrine glands in the pancreas.

The exocrine glands produce juices, or enzymes, that enter the intestines and help digest fat, proteins, and carbohydrates. These make up most of the pancreas.

The endocrine glands are small clusters of cells known as the islets of Langerhans. They release the hormones insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. There, they manage blood sugar levels. When they are not working properly, the result is often diabetes.

TYPES OF PANCREATIC CANCER

There are two different types of pancreatic cancer, depending on whether it affects the exocrine or endocrine functions. They have different risk factors, causes, symptoms, diagnostic tests, treatments, and outlook.

EXOCRINE PANCREATIC CANCER

Tumors that affect the exocrine functions are the most common type.

They can be malignant or benign. Benign tumors or cysts are are called cystadenomas. Most pancreatic tumors are malignant, or cancerous.

Different types of pancreatic cancers can affect the exocrine functions.

Types of tumor include:

  • adenocarcinomas, which typically start in gland cells in the ducts of the pancreas
  • acinar cell carcinoma, which starts in the pancreatic enzyme cells
  • ampullary cancer, which starts where the bile duct and pancreatic duct meet the duodenum of the small intestine
  • adenosquamous carcinomas
  • squamous cell carcinomas
  • giant cell carcinomas

ENDOCRINE PANCREATIC CANCER

Tumors that affect the endocrine functions of the pancreas are called neuroendocrine or islet-cell tumors. These are fairly uncommon.

The name comes from the type of hormone-producing cell where the cancer starts.

They include:

  • insulinomas (insulin)
  • glucagonomas (glucagon)
  • gastrinomas (gastrin)
  • somatostatinomas (somatostatin)
  • VIPomas (vasoactive intestinal peptide or VIP)

Functioning islet cell tumors continue to make hormones. Non-functioning ones do not. Most of these tumors are benign, but non-functioning tumors are more likely to be malignant, islet-cell carcinomas.

Scientists do not know exactly why uncontrolled cell growth happens in the pancreas, but they have identified some possible risk factors.

GENETIC FACTORS

Damage or changes in a person’s DNA can lead to damage in the genes that control cell division.

Hereditary genetic changes pass down through a family. There is evidence that pancreatic cancer can run in families.

Other genetic changes happen because of exposure to an environmental trigger, for example, tobacco.

A person with certain genetic syndromes is more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.

These include:

  • hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome
  • melanoma
  • pancreatitis
  • non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome)

SEX

Pancreatic cancers affect men than often than women.

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINSIS

Exposure to pesticides can increase the risk of various diseases, and pancreatic cancer may be one of these.

Substances that may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer include certain:

  • pesticides
  • dyes
  • chemicals used in metal refining

When the body comes into contact with a carcinogen, free radicals form. These damage cells and affect their ability to function normally. The result can be cancerous growths.

OTHER MEDICAL FACTORS

Age is an important risk factor, especially after the age of 60 years.

Scientists have also found a link between cancer of the pancreas and several other diseases.

These include:

  • cirrhosis or scarring of the liver
  • infection of the stomach with the ulcer-causing bacteria, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)
  • diabetes mellitus
  • chronic pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas
  • gingivitis or periodontal disease

LIFESTYLE FACTORS

  • smoking cigarettes or exposure to tobacco smoke
  • excess weight and a lack of exercise
  • a diet that is high in red meat and fat and low in fruits and vegetables
  • long-term, heavy consumption of alcohol, which can lead to chronic pancreatitis, a risk factor for pancreatic cancer

SYMPTOMS OF PANCREATIC CANCER

Symptoms often do not appear until the later stages. Abdominal pain can be one of them.

Pancreatic cancer is often called a “silent” disease, because symptoms do not show until the later stages.

Tumors of the pancreas cancers are usually too small to cause symptoms, and later symptoms are often non-specific.

However, when the cancer grows, there may be:

  • pain in the upper abdomen as the tumor pushes against nerves
  • jaundice, when problems with the bile duct and liver lead to a painless yellowing of the skin and eyes and darkening of the urine.
  • loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting
  • significant weight loss and weakness
  • pale or grey fatty stool

However, a number of other diseases can cause the same symptoms, so a doctor can often not diagnose pancreatic cancer until the later stages.

Other possible signs and symptoms include:

  • Trousseau’s sign, when spontaneous blood clots form in the portal blood vessels, deep veins of the arms and legs, or other superficial veins
  • clinical depression, which people sometimes report before a diagnosis

Islet cell or neuroendocrine cancers of the pancreas may cause the pancreas to produce too much insulin or hormones.

The person may experience:

  • weakness or dizziness
  • chills
  • muscle spasms
  • diarrhea

Pancreatic cancer appears differently, depending on which part of the pancreas the tumor is in, whether the “head” or the “tail.”

Tumors at the tail end are more likely to result in pain and weight loss. At the other end, head tumors cause fatty stools, weight loss, and jaundice.

If the cancer spreads, or metastasizes, new symptoms can occur in the affected area and the rest of the body.

DIAGNOSIS

Assessing symptoms

The physician will pay special attention to common symptoms such as:

  • abdominal or back pain
  • weight loss
  • poor appetite
  • tiredness
  • irritability
  • digestive problems
  • gallbladder enlargement
  • blood clots, deep venous thrombosis (DVT), or pulmonary embolism
  • fatty tissue abnormalities
  • diabetes
  • swelling of lymph nodes
  • diarrhea
  • steatorrhea, or fatty stools
  • jaundice

Atypical diabetes mellitus, Trousseau’s sign, and recent pancreatitis may also be indications that pancreatic cancer is present.

LABORATORY TESTS

Possible tests include:

  • blood tests
  • urine tests
  • stool tests

Blood tests can detect a chemical that pancreatic cancer cells release into the blood. Liver function tests check for bile duct blockage.

IMAGING TESTS

Common imaging tests include:

  • ultrasound or endoscopic ultrasound
  • CT, MRI, or PET scans
  • X-rays, possibly with a barium meal
  • an angiogram

Biopsy

This can confirm a diagnosis. The doctor removes a small sample of tissue for examination under the microscope.

STAGES OF PANCREATIC CANCER

The stage depends on

  • the size and direct extent of the primary tumor
  • how far the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes
  • whether the cancer has metastasized, or spread, to other organs in the body

The stages range from stage 0 to stage IV.

  • Stage 0: No spread. Pancreatic cancer is limited to the top layers of cells in the ducts of the pancreas. The pancreatic cancer is not visible on imaging tests or even to the naked eye.
  • Stage I: Local growth. Pancreatic cancer is limited to the pancreas, but has grown to less than 2 centimeters across (stage IA) or greater than 2 but no more than 4 centimeters (stage IB).
  • Stage II: Local spread. Pancreatic cancer is over 4 centimeters and is either limited to the pancreas or there is local spread where the cancer has grown outside of the pancreas, or has spread to nearby lymph nodes. It has not spread to distant sites.
  • Stage III: Wider spread. The tumor may have expanded into nearby major blood vessels or nerves, but has not metastasized to distant sites.
  • Stage IV: Confirmed spread. Pancreatic cancer has spread to distant organs.

Homeopathy is one of the most popular holistic systems of medicine. The selection of remedy is based upon the theory of individualization and symptoms similarity by using holistic approach. This is the only way through which a state of complete health can be regained by removing all the sign and symptoms from which the patient is suffering.  pancreatic cancer symptoms treatment that can be selected on the basis of cause, location, sensation, modalities and extension of the complaints. Some important remedies are given below for pancreatic cancer symptoms treatment:

  • Arsenic Alb.
  • Nitric Acid.
  • Euphorbium. .
  • Sulphur
  • Kreosote
  • Phytolacca
  • Conium.
  • Condurango.
  • Natrum Mur
  • Hydrastis.
  • Aurum Ars

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