Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin dies of pancreatic cancer

The music world sang a sad tune as it lost a true legend on Thursday of one the most deadly cancers in the United States. Soul singer Aretha Franklin died of a rare form of pancreatic cancer which her family released in a statement as, “advanced pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type.” According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 55,440 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and over 44,330 Americans will die from it.

What is pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive form of cancer that develops in the tissues of the pancreas.  The pancreas functions as both an organ and a gland and is located in the abdomen behind the lower part of the stomach.  One function of the pancreas is to aid in digestion producing enzymes that help break down food and another job it performs is to produce hormones, including insulin that helps control blood sugar levels in the body.

Rarely detected in early stages, the disease begins in the pancreas but can quickly spread to nearby organs. A challenge of pancreatic cancer is there is no early detection method for it. By the time a person has symptoms, the cancer is already at an advanced stage making it more difficult to treat.  Symptoms may include pain in the upper abdomen that radiates to the back, loss of appetite, unintended weight loss or adult-onset diabetes.

What is the type of pancreatic cancer Franklin had?

Neuroendocrine tumor was the type of pancreatic cancer the singer had.  Only 6 percent of pancreatic cancer tumors are of this rare type.  They may be benign or malignant and they tend to grow slower than exocrine tumors. This tumor develops from the abnormal growth of endocrine (hormone-producing) cells in the pancreas called islet cells.

There are two kinds of neuroendocrine tumors: functional and nonfunctional.  Functional means the tumor makes its own hormones and causes symptoms.  Nonfunctional tumors don’t cause symptoms. Most nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors are cancerous, which means they can spread to other parts of the body.  A person may not have symptoms until their tumor gets big or spreads.

Other facts about pancreatic cancer

Here are facts you should know about this type of cancer from the American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts & Figures 2018:

·      Pancreatic cancer is the third leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. surpassing breast cancer.  It is expected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. by the year 2020, surpassing colorectal cancer.

·      Pancreatic cancer is one of the few cancers for which survival has not improved substantially for nearly 40 years.

·      Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers. 74% of all patients die within the first year of diagnosis.

·      The 5-year survival rate for people diagnosed at all stages of this disease is 8%.  However, the 5-year survival rate for people diagnosed at an earlier stage with local disease is 32%.

·      There are few risk factors defined for pancreatic cancer. People who smoke are nearly twice as likely to develop it as someone who has never smoked. Family history of pancreatic cancer, chronic pancreatitis, alcohol use, obesity and diabetes are other risk factors. Individuals with Lynch syndrome and certain other genetic syndromes, as well as BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers are also at an increased risk.

·      African Americans have a higher rate of pancreatic cancer compared to other racial groups.

·      Pancreatic cancer may cause only vague symptoms that could indicate many different conditions within the abdomen or gastrointestinal tract.  These symptoms include pain (usually abdominal or back pain), weight loss, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), loss of appetite, nausea, changes in stool and diabetes.

·      Treatment options for pancreatic cancer include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy which can extend survival or relieve symptoms but seldom produce a cure.

·      Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death mainly because there are no detection tools to diagnose the disease in its early stages when surgical removal of the tumor is still possible.