Pancreatic Cancer

As far as cancers go, pancreatic cancer may be the most serious.  Pancreatic cancer kills quickly, and is usually undetected in its early stages.  Only 20% of pancreatic cancer cases are detected before it has spread to other organs and tissues.

By then it is too late -- surgical removal is no longer possible.  There are no known cures, and only 5% of pancreatic cancer patients survive past five years after they've been diagnosed.  The best way to beat pancreatic cancer is to avoid getting hit in the first place.  In this article, we will discuss the main pancreatic cancer causes.

If your body is healthy, the cells within it grow and reproduce in an orderly fashion.  This is governed by your DNA.  However, when your DNA is damaged, cells may no longer be produced in an organized and healthy way.

In fact, they may start to grow out of control. When this happens, the tumor will form.  So what causes the DNA to be damaged?  Scientists are still unsure.  However, there has been evidence to suggest a correlation between your inherited genes and pancreatic cancer.  However, this inherited trait only makes up 10% of pancreatic cancer cases.

The other 90% of pancreatic cancer causes can be attributed to a number of different factors.  Age is the biggest among them -- most pancreatic cancer cases occur in people who are over 65 years old.

The likelihood will be increased depending upon your race and sex as well.  African ethnicities have a higher risk rate for pancreatic cancer than all other ethnicities.  In addition, a man is more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than women.

But there are more pancreatic cancer causes than just inherited genes, race and gender.  Perhaps one of the biggest risk factors is cigarette smoking.  Those who smoke are up to three times more likely to get pancreatic cancer.

In addition, those who suffer from obesity are at a greater risk for pancreatic cancer, as well as those with a diet high in meat and low and vegetables.  A good portion of pancreatic cancer causes are attributed to poor lifestyle choices.

Lastly, some pancreatic cancer causes can be linked to environmental issues.  If you work around pesticides, petroleum compounds, and other chemicals found in gasoline, then you're at a higher risk to develop pancreatic cancer than someone who is not around such chemicals.

Consider these six major pancreatic cancer causes, and take the preventative measures necessary to avoid this devastating cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer |