Study Gives Hope For Pancreatic Cancer Patients

CBS4 Denver ^ | January 9, 2008 | Kathy Walsh

[GRANGER]

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) ― There is new hope for patients diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer. There's a new treatment being studied in Colorado and it has already cured one patient.

Most patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die from it, but a national clinical trial has left Richard Jordan, from Fort Collins, cancer free. Jordan has defied the odds. Just over a year ago, he was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer -- the tumor was choking a major blood vessel.

"You usually don't last more than six months," Jordan said.

Doctors at the University of Colorado Cancer Center offered some hope. Jordan had chemotherapy and radiation, but he was also given an investigational gene-based drug that kills cancer cells. It was injected directly into the tumor through a tube down his throat.

"This therapy may allow tumors to shrink down and permit surgical removal," Dr. Raj Shah with the CU Cancer Center said.

That's exactly what happened for Jordan. After five weeks of treatment, the tumor had shrunk and the blood vessel was clear. The mass was then removed.

"Once that mass was removed, they studied it under a microscope and didn't find any cancer cells left, which is quite rare when we're dealing with pancreatic cancer," Shah said.

Jordon was cancer free. He was the first patient to get the therapy in Colorado as part of the national clinical trial.

"I feel darn lucky," he said. Real lucky and blessed."

All patients in the study get chemo and radiation, but not all actually receive the drug. He was one of just a few who were cured. He'll continue to be checked for any sign of cancer.

[GRANGER]

Reported cure of Pancreatic Cancer.

[Quick Shot]

Great, because it is one of the cruel ones. Lost too many friends this way.

[prognostigaator]

^^^

[AU72]

Have something go wrong with the pancreas can easily be fatal. My wife almost died from severe acute pancreatitis last year. The salesman who sold us long term care insurance 2 years recently died form pancreatic cancer.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Bump for all the paranoids who believe that the drug companies already have drugs to cure cancer but would rather make more money by TREATING it instead of curing it.

[Owen]

Thumbs up to the researchers. Well done, people.

I once had a friend who got it and I didn’t know. I saw him for the first time after he disappeared for several months. I made the horrible mistake of exclaiming “Wow, you have lost weight! You look great!” He informed me that he had found the miracle way to lose weight and why.

Not a good day.

[raptor29]

Also, another example of life-saving advances made by the ‘for profit’ U.S. medical industry, advances that will be passed along free of charge to the free-loading socialized medicine countries for the benefit of their mush-headed populace. Again.

[Ditter]

What does the pancreas do?

[SuperSonic]

From www.pancreas.org:

Your pancreas is a large gland behind your stomach and close to your duodenum. The pancreas secretes powerful digestive enzymes that enter the small intestine through a duct. These enzymes help you digest fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. The pancreas also releases the hormones insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. These hormones play an important part in metabolizing sugar.

[SuperSonic]

Thank you for posting this. I have a co-worker whose mother has Pancreatic Cancer.

[Ditter]

Thanks, I knew about the insulin part but couldn’t remember what else it did.