Pancreatic cancer is known as a type of cancer that originates within the pancreas. Much like other forms of cancer, pancreatic cancer progresses into several different stages, which often indicate the progression of the severity of the disease. In most cases, pancreatic cancer that has progressed past a certain stage becomes fatal.
The Progression of Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, in particular, is the stage of pancreatic cancer where the cancer has already spread to several distantly located places within the body. It may also affect organs that are close to one another. At this point, pancreatic cancer may affect the lungs and/or liver, in addition to the stomach, bowels and spleen, from the starting point at the pancreas.
Patients with stage 4 pancreatic cancer are often classified into two groups, which both indicate how the pancreatic cancer has spread throughout the body.
Group A Patients – These patients often have pancreatic cancer that’s spread to localized areas, such as nearby organs and blood vessels. This is often known as localized pancreatic cancer.
Group B Patients – These patients often have pancreatic cancer that had already spread to several distantly spaced organs within the body, in most cases, the lungs. This is often known as metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is considered fatal, thanks to the very nature of the cancer spreading to adjacent organs. Many of the symptoms start once the pancreatic cancer starts spreading to the organs of the body.
Common symptoms often include jaundice (when interfering with bile production), abdominal pain (tumor-induced abdominal nerve pain) and a loss of appetite/weight loss or vomiting (when affecting the digestive system).
Life Expectancy of Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer
The life expectancy for stage 4 pancreatic cancer is considered one of the lowest, since the disease is considered one of the ‘worst’ of the existing types of cancer. As of now, many medical resources pin the median survival rate for stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients to be about three to five months, depending on the condition of the patient.
The lower life expectancy is due to the fact that the cancer, at this point, spreads to the surrounding organs. Since this happens, it’s difficult for a patient to recover from the cancer’s damage, even if undergoing treatment.
Treatment for stage 4 pancreatic cancer often involves chemotherapy and the administration of pain-relieving drugs for patients. Patients also receive palliative surgery, which may include a biliary bypass, gastric bypass and/or an endoscopic stent placement.
