How is cancer of the pancreas treated?

Cancer of the pancreas is curable only when it is found in its earliest stages, before it has spread. Otherwise, it is very difficult to cure. However, it can be treated, symptoms can be relieved, and the quality of the patient's life can be improved.

Treatment for pancreatic cancer depends on a number of factors. Among these are the type, size, and extent of the tumor as well as the patient's age and general health. Treatment can consist of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or possibly biological therapy. We'll take a look at each option and the possible side effects on the following slides.

Text 3. High Blood Pressure - Effective Treatments

Patient 1.

I am 70 years old with basic high blood pressure/hypertension for the last five years. When I smoked two to three packs a day and had a few drinks every day, I did not have high blood pressure! When my doctor discovered my high blood pressure, a prosthetic aortic valve was inserted. That was five years ago. I have not even touched a cigarette since, but I do have two large drinks every evening. I walk four kilometers every day and remain physically and mentally active. I have had to change medicines almost every three to six months. I also take a water pill every other day to prevent my feet from swelling.

Patient 2.

I am suffering from essential hypertension since 37 years I have taken various treatments & combinations of drugs to control it. I have to check regularly observe discipline in food habits exercise regularly. I have no cholesterol or diabetes. Presently I take Valent Aten 100 in morning & Catapres with Aspirin 75 in the night. I develop resistance to drugs & have to have them changed from time to time. I have to measure pressure regularly. It is the spot check which catches pressure & I have to visit the doctor to have the drugs changed.

Patient 3.

The best treatment that has been effective for my high blood pressure is simply walking every other day. I began to feel great and more alert!

Patient 4.

I'm 49 and my Hypertension is all stress related, so under Doctor supervision I've been taking Naturopathic medication (after consultations with Naturopath) with regular exercise, I've found most days it stays within normal limits. Please Note: I had terrible reaction to Micardis hence the Naturopath.

Patient 5.

I had high blood pressure, and by taking garlic regularly and reducing my weight by 15 pounds, my blood pressure has dropped.

Text 4. Asthma Myths.

These are some of the many faces of asthma. Most researchers believe that the different patterns of asthma are all related to one condition. Other researchers feel that separate lung conditions exist. There is currently no cure for asthma, and no single exact cause has been identified. Therefore, understanding the changes that occur in asthma, how it makes you feel, and how it can behave over time is vital. This knowledge empowers you to take an active role in your own health care.

Test your "asthma IQ" by taking the following true or false quiz:

False: Asthma is not a psychological condition. However, emotional triggers can cause flare-ups.

You cannot outgrow asthma. In about 50% of children with asthma, the condition may become inactive in the teenage years. The symptoms, however, may recur at anytime in adulthood.

There is no cure for asthma, but the disease can be controlled in most patients with good medical care. The condition should be taken seriously since uncontrolled asthma may result in emergency hospitalization and possible death.

True: You have a 6% chance of having asthma if neither parent has the condition; a 30% chance if one parent has it; and a 70% chance if both parents have it.

A new environment may temporarily improve asthma symptoms, but it will not cure asthma. After a few years in the new location, many persons become sensitized to the new environment, and the asthma symptoms return with the same or even greater intensity than before.

Asthma is not contagious.

Swimming is an optimal exercise for those with asthma. On the other hand, exercising in dry, cold air may be a trigger for asthma in some people.

Asthma medications are not addictive.

Text 5. Dialogues.

Feeling bad.

“Hello. How are you?”

“I’m not doing very well. I’ve got a cold.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. You must go to the doctor at once.”

“Well, I’m sure I’ll recover in no time.”

“Take care of yourself. I hope you feel better soon.”

“Thank you. Bye.”

“Bye-Bye”

Short Conversations.

Calling First Aid.

“Hello!”

“First Aid here. What happened?”

“A man here is having a serious heart trouble.”

“Name and age?”

“Skidoo, 58 years old.”

“Address?”

“Number 24, May Street, Flat 16.”

“A car will arrive in ten minutes.”

I don’t feel well.

“What’s the matter with you, sonny, where does it hurt?”

“I don’t feel well.”

“Where is the pain?”

“I’ve got a very bad headache and my nose is running.”

“You have caught a cold. Take this pill. Have a cup of hot tea with honey and go to bed.”

At the Doctor’s.

“Take off your jacket and shirt and let me examine you.”

“All right, Doctor.”

“You don’t cough, I suppose, or feel any pain anywhere, do you?”

“No, doctor, not at all, I fell quite well.”

“Fine, now let me listen to your heart…With a heart like that you will live to be two hundred. Now, what about your stomach? Lie down and I’ll see if anything is wrong there…This was where you had the pains when you were ill, wasn’t it? Any pain now?”

“Yes, that was the place, doctor, but it doesn’t hurt at all now.”

“Well, a few weeks at a sanatorium in Kislovodsk will do you a world of good, I think. Get dressed now while I write out your papers.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

Text 6. At the doctor’s.

1.

Doctor: Would you like to come in?

Patient: Thank you.

Doctor: That cough sounds really very bad. How long have you had it?

Patient: Two days now.

Doctor: I think I should listen to your chest and lungs. Take off your shirt. Breathe in deeply; and again, please; and once more, please. Sit down. You can put on your shirt. I’m going to take your blood pressure. Well, your blood pressure is 110 to 70. It’s normal. I think you’ve got a bad cold.

Patient:what should I do?

Doctor: I’ll describe you some medicine. It’s nothing serious but you’d better stay in bed for some days. Take the medicine regularly, three times a day. Drink warm milk with honey and you will recover soon.

Patient: Thank you very much, doctor. Good-bye.

2.

Doctor:Who is the next?

Patient:Good day, doctor.

Doctor:Come in, please. Sit down. What is your complaint?

Patient: I keep feeling dizzy and I’ve got a headache. Maybe I’ve got a fever?

Doctor: I should take your temperature. Oh, your temperature is running. 38 degrees. Show me your throat. You have a sore throat.

Patient: Yes, it’s difficult for me to swallow and to breathe.

Doctor: I should feel your pulse. It’s serious. I think you have quinsy.

Patient: What should I do?

Doctor: I’ll prescribe some medicine for you. Ask somebody to go and buy the medicine at the chemist’s. And you must immediately go home and go to bed. I’ll come to see you in a couple of days.

Patient: Thank you, doctor. Good-bye.

Text 7. At the dentist’s.

Once I had a toothache for several days, but I couldn’t pluck up courage to go to the dentist. As a matter of fact I went twice, but just as I got on his doorstep and was going to ring the bell the toothache seemed to have gone away, so I went home again. But at last I had to go back, and this time I rang the bell and I was shown into the waiting- room.

There were a number of magazines there, and I had just got in the middle of an exciting story when the maid came in to say Mr. Puller was ready to see me – I’ll have to wait for the next toothache to fish the story.

Well, I went into the surgery (the room where a doctor or dentist gives advice or treatment) and he told me to sit in a chair that he could move up and down, backwards and forwards, and then he had a look at the inside of my mouth. He put a little mirror on a long handle inside my mouth and pocked about for a while, then he looked serious and said, “Yes, I’m afraid we can’t save that one, it will have to come out.”

I asked him to give me an injection. He filled a syringe with a liquid called cocaine. I felt a little prick on the gum and then injected the cocaine. He did this in two or three places and waited for a minute or so.

My mouth felt rather dead. Then he took a pair of forceps, gripped the tooth, gave a twist, then a pull, and the tooth was out. I could see it and hear it but I couldn’t feel it. Then he said, “It’s all over. Spit in there and then wash your mouth out with this disinfectant.”