Choosing a Surgeon for Pancreatic Cancer Surgery
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As one of the most alarming cancer diagnoses to receive, the words “pancreatic cancer” can immediately set any patient scrambling for care. With operations so complex and survival rates relatively low, your health and safety rest in your surgeon’s hands. How can you find the right person to entrust the job to?
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Practice, Practice, Practice
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Most importantly, the amount of practice a surgeon has had with pancreatic cancer surgery will determine his or her level of skill. A John Hopkins study in 1995 showed a clear correlation between patient survival rates and the number of operations a surgical center had performed. In addition, the general outlook for patients undergoing pancreatic cancer surgery—mostly Whipple procedures—has improved significantly over the past few decades. The numbers speak a clear message: if practice doesn’t manage to make perfect, then at the very least it brings a surgeon a step closer to that ideal. Make sure to seek out a surgeon with very specialized experience in pancreatic surgeries.
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Seeing Eye-to-Eye
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There is a long list of treatment options and treatment alternatives for pancreatic cancer. Some plans are low-risk but also low-benefit; some are more taxing for the patient but promise greater potential for recovery in the end. Because surgery rarely stands alone as a solution—chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and drugs all play their parts—recommendations cannot come from a purely surgical perspective. Your pancreatic cancer surgeon should be willing to lay out guidelines for various modes of attacking the disease, and should be willing to cater his or her suggestions to your level of personal commitment and comfort. With a condition that progresses as quickly as pancreatic cancer, it truly is crucial to reach an agreement with your surgeon from the get-go—opportunities to change plans and amend attitudes are unlikely to arise.
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A Second Opinion
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With that in mind, remember that it never hurts to get a second opinion. Because pancreatic cancer is such a sticky situation, surgical opinions are bound to differ. Don’t restrict yourself to the perspective of one small section of the medical world—ask around! This is a natural rule to follow if you find that you and your surgeon don’t see things eye-to-eye, but even if your ideas fall in line, it’s still a good idea to broaden your horizons and look into other options out there. Who knows, you may stumble across a promising solution that you never would have considered before.
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Location
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The fact that more experienced surgeons produce more consistent results has not gone unnoticed. Ever more pancreatic surgeons are focusing on their area of expertise, and many of the best high-volume surgeons can be found congregated in certain medical centers. If you’re lucky enough to live within easy reach, such centers are probably your best bet. If, however, location is problematic, then you may need to weigh the benefits of a surgical center against the hassle of post-operative traveling.Â
