Treatment for pancreatic cancer

There are things you can do to help you feel more in control of your health when preparing for treatment. This is called prehabilitation or prehab.

The treatments for pancreatic cancer include chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy and treatment to control symptoms. There are lots of factors your doctor takes into account when recommending the best treatment for you.

Chemotherapy is one of the main treatments for pancreatic cancer. There are different chemotherapy drugs and combinations you might have. Which ones you have depends on factors including how fit and well you are and what treatment you have had before.

The type of surgery you have depends on where the cancer is in your pancreas. Find out about the different types of surgery for pancreatic cancer, what happens before and what to expect afterwards.

Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage. Unfortunately, advanced pancreatic cancer cannot normally be cured but there are treatments you can have to control symptoms and improve your quality of life.

Radiotherapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. There are different types of radiotherapy you might have for pancreatic cancer. You may have radiotherapy on it's own or combined with chemotherapy (chemoradiotherapy).

Doctors may use targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer. This might be if the cancer has a ​gene change (mutation) or certain protein that helps the cancer grow.

You have follow up appointments and tests after treatment for pancreatic cancer. How often you have them depends on a number of factors. And you may have appointments to see other health professionals as well as your doctor.