Pancreatectomy

A pancreatectomy is the surgical removal of the pancreas. A pancreatectomy may be total, in which case the entire organ is removed, usually along with the spleen, gallbladder, common bile duct, and portions of the small intestine and stomach. A pancreatectomy may also be distal, meaning that only the body and tail of the pancreas are removed, leaving the head of the organ attached. When the duodenum is removed along with all or part of the pancreas, the procedure is called a pancreaticoduodenectomy, which surgeons sometimes refer to as "Whipple's procedure." Pancreaticoduodenectomies are increasingly used to treat a variety of malignant and benign diseases of the pancreas. This procedure often involves removal of the regional lymph nodes as well.

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Pancreas Transplantation

Pancreas transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a diseased pancreas is replaced with a healthy pancreas that has been obtained from an immunologically compatible cadavear or living donor.

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Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a term reserved for treatment with drugs that destroy cancer cells or interfere with tumor growth. There are several different types of chemotherapy but each type either stops the formation of new cancer cells or kills existing cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be used to treat a wide range of cancers from solid tumor types, like liver or brain cancer, to blood cancers, like leukemia. Chemotherapy, or “chemo” as it is sometimes called, may be used along with other cancer treatments such as surgery and radiation.

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Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is a form of cancer treatment that uses high energy radiation to kill cancer cells and reduce the size of tumors. The source of radiation can be X-rays, gamma rays, atomic particles or other source of ionizing radiation. Radiation therapy can be applied from a source outside of the body directed at a tumor. Alternatively, small amounts of radioactive substance can be placed within or near a tumor, a process sometimes called brachytherapy.   Brachytherapy devices emit radiation in a small, localized area to destroy nearby cancer cells. Systemic radiation therapy, the third form of radiation therapy, involves the infusion of a radioactive substance into the bloodstream that permeates most places in the body. An example of systemic therapy is the use of iodine 131 to treat thyroid cancer.

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