Nurse Maude Pancreatic Cancer Research

Pancreatic cancer is one of the the most common cancer killers with the lowest survival rate and is largely undetectable until the later stages. A lack of awareness among both the public and doctors and a shortage of treatment and research mean survival rates are pitiful. While pancreatic cancer survival rates have been improving from decade to decade, the disease is still considered largely incurable. According to the American Cancer Society, for all stages of pancreatic cancer combined, the one-year relative survival rate is 20%, and the five-year rate is 7%. More research will one day hopefully give better quality of life for people suffering with this disease and possible extend time with their loved ones before it is too late.

Current Research by Nurse Maude

Malabsorption is one of the key issues with pancreatic cancer leading to symptoms such as jaundice, pain, nausea, bloating, flatulence, vomiting and weight loss. Dr Landers (palliative care physician at Nurse Maude) and her research team have been researching the use of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) which can reduce these symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life. Initially, the team identified that PERT had not always been prescribed for patients referred to the palliative care service, despite there being international guidelines recommending its use.

The second phase of research showed that PERT significantly reduced some of the symptoms associated with malabsorption. The researchers are currently interviewing patients who are taking PERT to capture their experience and whether it has enhanced their quality of life.

Results from the research are published in international journals, however, providing free access to publications is expensive and your donations will go towards ensuring that future articles are freely available to physicians world-wide.

Here’s a link to an existing publication: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265134233_Pancreatic_enzyme_replacement_therapy_PERT_for_malabsorption_in_patients_with_metastatic_pancreatic_cancer