Palliative Procedures for Pancreatic Cancer
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Pancreatic Cancer Treatment: Palliative Procedures
If surgery to remove the entire tumor is not possible, or if you experience biliary obstruction or other complications, Cancer Treatment Centers of America doctors can provide palliative procedures for pancreatic cancer. Palliative surgery can help you experience a better quality of life, prevent treatment interruptions and reduce liver damage.
For instance, procedures such as biliary bypass, endoscopic stent placement, gastric bypass and percutaneous biliary drainage can help relieve jaundice, itching (pruritus) and other conditions associated with pancreatic cancer.
In addition, some pancreatic cancer patients experience ascites (abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen), which can be very uncomfortable. Through the use of palliative surgery, our surgical oncologists can insert tunneled catheters to control this condition and help you feel less full so you can regain your appetite and stay nutritionally fortified.
For gastric outlet obstruction, we can perform percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement, which is a tube placed in the stomach through which you can receive enteral nutrition. For tumor-associated abdnominal pain, we can provide EUS-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN) to relieve pain.
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