THEY GO OUT AND ENJOY IT. IF YOU CAN IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. WE ARE SPREADING AWARENESS OF PANCREATIC CANCER TODAY I’M JOINED WITH DOCTOR HINGORANI FROM UNMC TO TALK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN SPREAD AWARENESS AS WELL AS COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS DISEASE. DOCTOR, THANKS FOR COMING IN WITH US TODAY. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. SO A BROAD OVERVIEW KNOW A BIG QUESTION HERE, BUT FOR PEOPLE THAT MAY NOT KNOW WHAT IS PANCREATIC CANCER AND HOW SERIOUS THIS IS, THAT DIAGNOSIS? WELL, PANCREATIC CANCER IS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING OF ALL OF THE CANCERS, AND IT’S A TUMOR THAT ARISES IN THE DUCTAL CELLS, THE TUBING SYSTEM, IF YOU WILL, OF THE PANCREAS. SO THAT’S PART OF THE DELIVERY SYSTEM THROUGH WHICH THE ENZYMES OF DIGESTION, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT THE PANCREAS MAKES ITS EXIT AND ENTER INTO THE SMALL BOWEL. SO THOSE CELLS LINING THOSE TUBES CAN BECOME CANCEROUS. SO ONCE YOU GET THAT DIAGNOSIS, WHAT ARE TREATMENT OPTIONS LIKE? AND OBVIOUSLY YOU WANT THIS TO BE ADDRESSED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. SO PREVENTATIVE MEASURES ARE EVERYTHING, RIGHT? EXACTLY. SO THE EARLIER YOU DETECT IT, THE BETTER. OF COURSE, AN AND BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT BEHAVIORS THAT THIS CANCER CAN MANIFEST, WE USE A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH TO THE THERAPY. AND IDEALLY, WE WANT TO USE OUR SURGEONS, WE WANT TO USE OUR MEDICAL ONCOLOGISTS, WE WANT TO USE RADIATION THERAPY. AND THEN ALL KINDS OF SUPPORTIVE THERAPY, NUTRITION, PHYSICAL THERAPY, PAIN MANAGEMENT, ALL OF THOSE THINGS GO INTO TREATING THE DISEASE RIGHT. THAT TREATMENT COMES FROM HOME AS WELL AS WHEN YOU’RE IN THE OFFICE OR IN THE HOSPITAL. WELL, EXACTLY RIGHT. WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THAT PEOPLE CAN MAYBE HELP SPREAD AWARENESS? YOU KNOW, EVERY MONTH WE TALK ABOUT, OKAY, IT’S THIS KIND OF CANCER AWARENESS. WE TALK ABOUT IT. BUT WHAT ARE SOME OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN BE PROACTIVE ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE SOME HELP? RIGHT. WELL, THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS THAT UNFORTUNATE LEIGH ARE ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER KINDS OF CONDITIONS THAT ARE MORE COMMON. BUT I THINK CERTAIN KINDS OF FACTORS, IF THEY COME UP, THEY SHOULD CALL ATTENTION AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. SO AS WE GET OLDER, IF YOU HAVE UNEXPLAINED DIABETES, IF YOU START TO DEVELOP DIABETES WITHOUT A FAMILY HISTORY OR WITHOUT BEING OVERWEIGHT, BURT AND SEDENTARY, THEN THAT CAN BE A SIGN. CERTAINLY JAUNDICE, IF YOUR EYES TURN YELLOW, THAT’S OFTEN A VERY TELLTALE SIGN OR PAINS EITHER IN THE ABDOMEN OR IN THE BACK THAT ARE UNEXPLAINED. AND YOU CAN’T ATTRIBUTE TO OTHER THINGS AND KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF SOMETIMES PEOPLE CAN FEEL THESE SYMPTOMS AND TRY AND TOUGH IT OUT OR JUST CAUSE IT AS AN ANOMALY. IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET IN WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN AND GET CHECKED OUT. EXACTLY. NOW, AGAIN, ALMOST ALWAYS IS LOW BACK PAIN IS JUST LOW BACK PAIN. IT’S NOT PANCREATIC CANCER. RIGHT. BUT IT’S BEST TO JUST BRING IT TO THE ATTENTION OF SOMEONE WHO’S TAKING CARE OF YOU AND LET THEM HELP YOU DECIDE. IS THIS A CANCER WITH A GENETIC DISEASE OR DOES THAT PLAY A ROLE IN GETTING DIAGNOSED WITH PANCREATIC CANCER? IT ABSOLUTELY CAN. SO WE THINK THAT MUTATIONS IN THE DNA DRIVE MOST CANCERS. BUT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT INHERIT 1 OR 2 MUTATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY SORT OF GET THE PROCESS STARTED THAT PREDISPOSE YOU AND WE HAVE TESTS FOR THOSE KINDS OF THINGS AS WELL. SO CERTAINLY IF THERE’S ANY FAMILY HISTORY OF PANCREATIC CANCER, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A PROGRAM DEDICATED TO THOSE FAMILIES WHERE WE WANT TO SEE THEM AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. WE VISIT WITH THEM EVERY SIX MONTHS. WE DO SOME BLOOD TESTS. WE DO AN EXAM AGAIN, ALL TOWARDS TRYING TO CATCH IT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. THAT IS THE KEY. ALL RIGHT. AND WEARING PURPLE THIS MONTH TO SPREAD AWARENESS FOR IT AS WELL. THAT’S RIGHT. THAT’S THE COLOR OF PANCREAS CANCER. ALL RIGHT. WE’LL KEEP THAT IN YOUR MIND FOR THIS MONTH. DR