Guest guest Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 Dear Group, I have noticed that there has been a rash of postings of late concerning pancreatic cancer. This has piqued my interest, so I'm coming to the list for some personal input. I realize that I can go to Yahoo! Search or Google, but I don't want the clinical run-around... I'm interested in the personal experiences that list members might just perchance have. I understand that persons with CP have a largely heightened risk of PC... Of course that makes sense to me. Does anybody have any idea what causes this link specifically? I understand that a diseased organ might be at risk for further damage... but I guess what I DON " T get is what might bring cancerous cells into the pancreas. Very simple I think - I Hope - how does cancer begin and develop in the organ? Does anybody have a simple, laymen's understanding of what it is that actually can occur, and what steps can be taken to check for, be aware of, be cautious about, or be on the lookout for, this type of invasion? The organ is already so sensitive, and of course one becomes cautious about running to the ER every single time that something doesn't feel normal - it NEVER feels normal. Any input?? Thank you so much for any information that any of you might have to offer - and I pray for all of you that you might be able to stay cancer-free during these other, quite horrible, tribulations. God bless. Peace, Terry in KC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 Chuck, Extremely simple, thank you very, very much. My only question would be: if the cells are being replaced constantly, as they are throughout the rest of the body, why on earth would there be any greater chance of these cells being cancerous than those cells being replaced throughout the rest of the body?? Thank you, Terry << Terry, Here goes. Every time a cell in your body is replaced there is a risk of mutation. Cancer is one specific type of mutation. Panceatitis causes mass damage to an organ and forces your body to replace cells continuously in huge quantities. Any one of those cells can carry the cancer mutation. How's that for simple? Chuck >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 Chuck, Extremely simple, thank you very, very much. My only question would be: if the cells are being replaced constantly, as they are throughout the rest of the body, why on earth would there be any greater chance of these cells being cancerous than those cells being replaced throughout the rest of the body?? Thank you, Terry << Terry, Here goes. Every time a cell in your body is replaced there is a risk of mutation. Cancer is one specific type of mutation. Panceatitis causes mass damage to an organ and forces your body to replace cells continuously in huge quantities. Any one of those cells can carry the cancer mutation. How's that for simple? Chuck >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 Chuck, Extremely simple, thank you very, very much. My only question would be: if the cells are being replaced constantly, as they are throughout the rest of the body, why on earth would there be any greater chance of these cells being cancerous than those cells being replaced throughout the rest of the body?? Thank you, Terry << Terry, Here goes. Every time a cell in your body is replaced there is a risk of mutation. Cancer is one specific type of mutation. Panceatitis causes mass damage to an organ and forces your body to replace cells continuously in huge quantities. Any one of those cells can carry the cancer mutation. How's that for simple? Chuck >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 Terry, Here goes. Every time a cell in your body is replaced there is a risk of mutation. Cancer is one specific type of mutation. Panceatitis causes mass damage to an organ and forces your body to replace cells continuously in huge quantities. Any one of those cells can carry the cancer mutation. How's that for simple? Chuck At 07:56 AM 8/28/2002 -0400, you wrote: >Does anybody have a simple, laymen's understanding of what it is that >actually can occur, and what steps can be taken to check for, be aware of, be >cautious about, or be on the lookout for, this type of >invasion? Any input?? > >Thank you so much for any information that any of you might have to offer - >and I pray for all of you that you might be able to stay cancer-free during >these other, quite horrible, tribulations. > >God bless. >Peace, >Terry in KC > Chuck Sullivan chuck@... " When in command, Take charge. When faced with a decision, do what is right. Nothing else matters. " - Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 Terry, Here goes. Every time a cell in your body is replaced there is a risk of mutation. Cancer is one specific type of mutation. Panceatitis causes mass damage to an organ and forces your body to replace cells continuously in huge quantities. Any one of those cells can carry the cancer mutation. How's that for simple? Chuck At 07:56 AM 8/28/2002 -0400, you wrote: >Does anybody have a simple, laymen's understanding of what it is that >actually can occur, and what steps can be taken to check for, be aware of, be >cautious about, or be on the lookout for, this type of >invasion? Any input?? > >Thank you so much for any information that any of you might have to offer - >and I pray for all of you that you might be able to stay cancer-free during >these other, quite horrible, tribulations. > >God bless. >Peace, >Terry in KC > Chuck Sullivan chuck@... " When in command, Take charge. When faced with a decision, do what is right. Nothing else matters. " - Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 In a message dated 8/28/02 2:49:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time, roguekc@... writes: > why on earth would there be any greater chance of these cells being > cancerous than those cells being replaced throughout the rest of the body?? > Most likely they are not more likely, but there is a thought that as the body ages, the cell replacement process gets a little sloppy, telluride's unwinding, Also there is the 'free radical " theory in that as the body ages there are more " free radical ions " present from environmental sources (including the cumulative sun exposure) and that the presence of these ions can cause mutated cells within new cell growth. All theories are cryptic and in the first stages of exploration and understanding. Flush out Free Radicals - Drink Water !! - Just kidding Best wishes, Poncho - GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 In a message dated 8/28/02 2:49:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time, roguekc@... writes: > why on earth would there be any greater chance of these cells being > cancerous than those cells being replaced throughout the rest of the body?? > Most likely they are not more likely, but there is a thought that as the body ages, the cell replacement process gets a little sloppy, telluride's unwinding, Also there is the 'free radical " theory in that as the body ages there are more " free radical ions " present from environmental sources (including the cumulative sun exposure) and that the presence of these ions can cause mutated cells within new cell growth. All theories are cryptic and in the first stages of exploration and understanding. Flush out Free Radicals - Drink Water !! - Just kidding Best wishes, Poncho - GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 Terry, from what I've read (mostly from a book titled: Pancreatic Disease, State of the Art and Future Aspects of Research, edited by P.G Lankisch and E.P. DiMagno - got i through Amazon.com. Not cheap.), they don't really understand much of the pathological process of pancreatic cancer. They know some genes are associated with it, but not why or how they cause/effect the cancer growth, etc. Here's a quote from the article about epidemiology of both chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic Cancer (title: Lessons Learned about Pancreatitis and Pancreatic Cancer from Epidemiological Studies. by A.B Lowenfels, P. Maisonneuve, and P.G. Lankisch). " However, since pancreatic cancer is related to smoking, most of the observed increase is probably related to the smoking epidemic.........Experimental and epidemiological data conclusively support a strong relationship between smoking and pancreatic cancer. Perhaps the strongest evidence for this relationship comes from the remarkable cohort study of British physicians, which has been conducted for approximately 50 years.......The main findings with respect to smoking and pancreatic cancer include: (a) There is a clear dose response, the risk of pancreatic cancer increasing with the cumulative increase in smoking exposure. ( Heavy smokers have about a threefold risk of pancreatic cancer compared with nonsmokers. " there is also some info on dietary causes: " ....several dietary items are suspected to be risk factors for pancreatic tumors. These include: high fat and high carbohydrate diets and diets that are deficient in fruits, fiber and vegetables. The list of suspected items is similar to findings for other cancers. " As for pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer: " It now appears that patients with hereditary pancreatitis have an execptionally high risk of developing pancreatic cancer - about 50 times greater than background rates.......The available evidence implies that chronic pancreatitis is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. This is not entirely surprising, because in other digestive organs such as the esophagus, the stomach, and the colon, benign disease often precedes malignant disease. The mechanism may be related to increased cell turnover. Despite this probable link, chronic pancreatitis explains no more than about 2 or 3 % of all pancreatic cancer cases. " There was also some brief info on race being a factor, that blacks were had a 50% higher chance of getting it than whites. Also said that was consistent with smoking turmors as well, though that doesn't completely explain why they are so much more prone to getting it than whites. Not sure how much help this is, but this is what I've highlighted as I read the article. If I find the time, I will try and scan the whole series of articles on Pancreatic cancer. Just be warned that these articles are written mainly for doctors, not the layman and they are extremely technical in verbage. Kimber -- Kimber Vallejo, CA hominid2@... Southwest Representative Pancreatitis Association, International Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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