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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreas#Function https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreas#Function "It is possible for one to live without a pancreas, provided th
by odabaxok 11y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreas#Function https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreas#Function
"It is possible for one to live without a pancreas, provided that the person takes insulin for proper regulation of blood glucose concentration and pancreatic enzyme supplements to aid digestion."
- mrfusion 11y agoInteresting. I've always wondered why we don't simply remove the entire pancreas for cases of pancreatic cancer?
- OopsCriticality 11y agoBecause there is no clinical evidence for the survival benefit of total pancreatectomy over a Whipple. There's absolutely nothing simple about surgery when the pancreas is involved.
- mrfusion 11y agoDo you have a citation for that? I'd be curious to read more. Intiutively it sounds wrong since I'd image any cancer that comes back after the whipple is coming from left over cancer cells in the pancreas, no?
- agumonkey 11y agoIt's saddening that a possibly avoidable organ leads to the most "lethal" cancer.