Pancreatic Cancer Facts, Breastfeeding & Glaucoma

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7:00am Segment Info:
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer mainly because it spreads rapidly and is often not detected until it's too late.

Most times the cancer has spread beyond the pancreas into other organs in the abdomen but the symptoms which include things like upper abdominal pain that radiates to the back. Nausea, vomiting, weight loss and decreased appetite are vague. And often don't even start happening until the cancer has spread.

What are the treatments?

MORE INFO AFTER THE JUMP

Treatment options include everything from surgery to radiation to chemotherapy. Once someone is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer there are many factors to consider when deciding treatment. Like the location of the cancer and it's stage - meaning how far advanced it is.

Doctors also consider things like the overall health of the person and the age. Take patrick swayze for instance, the reports we're hearing is that his cancer was caught early, and that it was localized to the pancreas, hadn't spread, and he's had surgery to remove it and he’s getting chemo.

We haven't confirmed that. But if that's the case he has a better chance of surviving.

What is the survival rate for pancreatic cancer?

It's very low. With cancer we talk about 5 year survival rate. For pancreatic cancer the 4 year survival rate is about 4%. Let's just hope that for Patrick Swayze he's in that 4%.

8:00am Segment Info:
A new study finds lower rates of breastfeeding may explain why minority and disadvantaged kids are at greater risk of becoming overweight. In the report those children who were breastfed for more than 4 months had a lower body mass index than other kids regardless of the parent's race or education levels. But breastfeeding practices did vary amount groups. 40% of white adolescents were breast fed for at least four months. Compared to only 11% of black children and 18% of kids with less educated parents.

How does breastfeeding affect weight control?

There are a couple of theories on this. One is that with breastfeeding experts say infants have more control over how much they eat and can self-regulate their calorie intake. But it may also be the milk itself. Scientists say breast milk may have long lasting metabolic effects that help with weight control.

In other news, there may soon be a better way to catch glaucoma.

That's right, a new computer software program that can detect glaucoma earlier than traditional tests is being developed in London. This is great news because diagnosing glaucoma can be difficult. Many people aren’t aware of the symptoms until it's too late. The new test works with motion as well as light detection, which improves accuracy and diagnosis. Researchers hope to roll out the software across the UK over the next year.

Who is at risk for glaucoma?

Of course, anyone with a family history is at risk. Being over sixty increases the risk, but in African Americans that risk starts when you're over 40. Also diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and low thyroid increase the risk. As does nearsightedness and trauma to the eye. If glaucoma is caught early it's easily treated but if it isn’t, it can cause damage to the optic nerve which is essentially the nerve that takes the information that we see in the eye.. And sends it to the brain.