Treatment

Palliation

Palliation is offered to make the patient comfortable. It does not aim to cure the disease but to ease off the symptoms, pain and discomfort that arise due to the disease or the side effects of treatment for a disease. Along with management of pain, jaundice, weight and muscle loss, fatigue and other physical problems, the psychological, social and spiritual aspects of the patient are also taken into consideration and importance is given to improving the quality of life of the patient.

Pain Management

• Pain is common in patients suffering from cancer. Pain can be as a result of the disease or the treatment of the disease. Not all people with cancer suffer from pain but it is common in the advanced stages of cancer.
• Abdominal (area near stomach) and back pain is common in patients with pancreatic cancer.
• Pain can affect day to day activities and quality of life of a patient and his/her family members.

• It is important that a patient informs a doctor about the pain he/she is experiencing. The doctor will give medicines that will take away or reduce the pain, the treatment is effective if started early.
• Medicines that help to relive pain are called as analgesics, and various types of analgesics are available for treating pain. The type and dose of an analgesic depends on the severity & duration of pain and overall health status of the patient.
• If the pain is not controlled by a single medication, a combination of analgesics may be given. It is important to follow the given regimen of medications to have optimum effect of the treatment.
• There are certain procedures like radiotherapy and chemotherapy reduce the size of the tumor and may help to relive pain. Other procedures like cutting the nerves and endoscopy can relive sever pain.¹⁵

Anxiolytics

These are medicines that reduce fear, anxiety and calm the mind. They may reduce pain by reducing the apprehension and anxiety related to disease and its treatment.

Surgical Bypass

• In some patients the tumor may block the ducts that carry bile from the gall bladder to the small intestine, leading to accumulation of bile, jaundice and pain. Also there may be obstruction to passage of food through stomach.
• The surgeons may perform a bypass surgery to restore the flow of bile. In this procedure, the bile duct is cut and directly attached to the small intestine.
• There are three main types of bypass, the location and size of the tumor decides the type of procedure. The bypass may help to overcome complications of bile build up, recurrent jaundice and associated pain.

Stents

In patients where the bile ducts are obstructed by the tumor, a tube (stent) is placed in the bile duct to drain the bile. The tube may deliver bile to the small intestine or drain it outside the body.