4 ms·

What a feeling it must be for the researchers involved in this, if it turns into a method of improving pancreatic cancer survival. I am glad their are so many m

What a feeling it must be for the researchers involved in this, if it turns into a method of improving pancreatic cancer survival. I am glad their are so many medical researchers driven in this way. My mother passed away from pancreatic cancer last year; she had no symptoms until two months before she passed, when she got a diagnosis from a scan. There are a lot of trials ongoing looking at how the area around the pancreas impacts how well different therapies work in treating it. This is really interesting as it suggests a new avenue to improve treatment, as well as a potential tool for easier diagnosis.

deftnerd 7y ago
This reminds me a lot of the cancers attributed to HPV, a common virus. The researchers who discovered that link have likely saved millions of lives. Almost every instance of cervical cancer is attributed to HPV. 70% of throat cancers, 90% of anal cancers, 60% of penile cancers, 75% vaginal, and 70% vulvar cancers. [1] It always stunned me that one little virus that used to be seen just as an embarrassment was re-categorized as being a huge risk factor for deadly cancers. If the person who identified a common bacteria being responsible for almost all ulcers got a Nobel price, the HPV <--> cancer researchers should also have been considered, IMHO. [1] https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents/hpv-and-cancer https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/i...
- eth0up 7y ago
  "...person who identified a common bacteria..." (Barry Marshall) Helicobacter pylori is also a suspect carcinogen, specifically in some stomach cancers. I am now wondering if it assists this evil fungus in any indirect way. Over half the world population carries h pylori, apparently mostly asymptomatically.
  - tigershark 7y ago
    Is there a non invasive way of getting tested for it?
    - eth0up 7y ago
      There's the poo test and a breath test.. beyond that I'm unsure. The breath test seems less available, maybe. Consider the following before alarming yourself though. H pylori, if asymptomatic, may be at a level of what some in the medical field deem best left alone. The goal in some treatments seems to beat it down rather than eradicate it. Rationale seems to weigh cost\benefit of slaughtering all the good stuff to get the bad when the bad might not do much beneath a threshold. I'm no authority. The subject, I do think is worth reading about and it doesn't appear there's a clearly advised plan for the infected asymptomatic majority.
    - abawany 7y ago
      For H Pylori, there are 2 tests that are both pretty easy: one is a blood test and the other is a breathing test (they collect the exhalation in some bag.) The results are returned fairly quickly
dcarmo 7y ago
I lost my mom this year to the same cancer and I get really excited with any advancements that are made in this area. I feel like we're still playing with sticks and stones in terms of pancreatic cancer treatment. The whole surgery plus chemotherapy is just barbaric.

deftnerd 7y ago

This reminds me a lot of the cancers attributed to HPV, a common virus. The researchers who discovered that link have likely saved millions of lives. Almost every instance of cervical cancer is attributed to HPV. 70% of throat cancers, 90% of anal cancers, 60% of penile cancers, 75% vaginal, and 70% vulvar cancers. [1] It always stunned me that one little virus that used to be seen just as an embarrassment was re-categorized as being a huge risk factor for deadly cancers. If the person who identified a common bacteria being responsible for almost all ulcers got a Nobel price, the HPV <--> cancer researchers should also have been considered, IMHO. [1] https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents/hpv-and-cancer https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/i...

eth0up 7y ago
"...person who identified a common bacteria..." (Barry Marshall) Helicobacter pylori is also a suspect carcinogen, specifically in some stomach cancers. I am now wondering if it assists this evil fungus in any indirect way. Over half the world population carries h pylori, apparently mostly asymptomatically.
- tigershark 7y ago
  Is there a non invasive way of getting tested for it?
  - eth0up 7y ago
    There's the poo test and a breath test.. beyond that I'm unsure. The breath test seems less available, maybe. Consider the following before alarming yourself though. H pylori, if asymptomatic, may be at a level of what some in the medical field deem best left alone. The goal in some treatments seems to beat it down rather than eradicate it. Rationale seems to weigh cost\benefit of slaughtering all the good stuff to get the bad when the bad might not do much beneath a threshold. I'm no authority. The subject, I do think is worth reading about and it doesn't appear there's a clearly advised plan for the infected asymptomatic majority.
  - abawany 7y ago
    For H Pylori, there are 2 tests that are both pretty easy: one is a blood test and the other is a breathing test (they collect the exhalation in some bag.) The results are returned fairly quickly

dcarmo 7y ago

I lost my mom this year to the same cancer and I get really excited with any advancements that are made in this area. I feel like we're still playing with sticks and stones in terms of pancreatic cancer treatment. The whole surgery plus chemotherapy is just barbaric.