Pancreatic Cancer Surgical Options

x-ray fluorescence had a comment on my Pancreatic Cancer post.

"Hi, Can anyone please let me know ..how much there will be expenses there for Pancreatic Tumor Operation?"

The answer to that is not quite as simple as it should be. Here is why. There are several surgical options that are available here in the US. I imagine each of these come with a different price tag attached to them. The first thing I would do is check with my insurance company if any of these procedures are covered and to what extend. Now to the technical information of the surgeries.

The procedures could be divided into two categories:

1. Surgery before the cancer has metastasized

2. Palliative surgery if cancer already has metastasized to other tissues.

All in all there are six surgeries performed, three in each category...

Whipple Procedure:

This is a surgery in which the head of the pancreas, the gallbladder, part of the stomach, part of the small intestine, and the bile duct are removed. This procedure leaves enough of the pancreas in order for production of digestive juices and insulin to still occur [1].

Total Pancreatectomy:

this procedure involves the removal of the entire pancreas, some parts of the stomach, a part of the small intestine, bile duct, gallbladder, spleen,
and some lymph nodes [2].

Distal Pancreatectomy:

Body, tail of the pancreas and the spleen are surgically removed [3].

Surgeries for palliative care are done only to relieve some of the disease symptoms. The three common prodcedures are:

Surgical Biliary Bypass:

This is done if there is a buildup of bile due to the fact that the cancer blocks the small intestine [4].

Endoscopic Stent Placement:

When cancer happens to block the bile duct surgeons put in a small tube to drain the bile.

Gastric Bypass:

if the cancer blocks the passage of food from the stomach, surgeons attach the stomach to the small intestine allowing for continued food uptake by the patient.

Wilson and Lightwood estimate that the costs associated with this disease can be broken down as follows [5]:

Hospitalization Costs (hospitalization costs can be further broken down into 45% room and board, surgery 9%, and radiology 10%.)
Long term Care Costs, and
Out-Patient Costs.

They further elaborate that the average cost of pancreatic surgery is around US$22,546 [6].

Here is an interesting article about Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg and her battle with pancreatic cancer. It describes the different options available, but as stated above, due to late discovery of the cancer, surgery is not always an option. Here is the article titled: Few Get Surgery For Grim Pancreatic Cancer

x-ray fluorescence I hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to post further inquiries in the comment section.

Beste Gesundheit,

Werner

References:
1. National Cancer Institute. Three Types of Standard Treatment: Surgery
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5. Medscape. Background and Economic Impact of Pancreatic Cancer
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