The goal of treatment depends on the stage of your cancer and especially whether surgery is a treatment option. With surgery, the goal of treatment is to potentially cure the cancer. This often requires chemotherapy and sometimes radiation to help decrease the chances of the cancer coming back as much as possible. However, even with surgery, there is still a risk of the cancer coming back. Without surgery, the goal of treatment is to control the cancer to the best extent possible using chemotherapy and sometimes radiation.
Preparing for treatment will require a team effort, together with family and loved ones. Your doctors may recommend regular visits with a nutritionist and physical therapist to help maintain nutrition and physical endurance before surgery. In addition, it is important to prepare for time commitments related to treatment — time that would otherwise be needed for work, home, or being a caregiver for others. Your doctors will advise you on details of your treatment schedule so that you can plan accordingly.
With or without treatment, your journey with pancreas cancer may change over time. Some treatments, including chemotherapy, may cause periods of tiredness or changes in appetite. This could impact your ability to serve as a caregiver for others, energy for daily activities (such as cooking, shopping), and eating habits. If you experience side effects from treatment that impact your ability to participate in daily activities, speak with your doctors about ways to adjust your treatment.
The vast majority of pancreatic cancers are not considered hereditary. However, all people with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (the most common type) are recommended to have genetic counseling and testing to look for a hereditary risk factor, even if you don’t have a family history of pancreas cancers. This provides important information that could impact your treatment and whether other family members need genetic testing.