Pancreatic Cancer: The Disease That Took Away Nargis Dutt

Cancer continues to be a dangerous killer in the kingdom of diseases. Over the years, we have lost many Bollywood celebrities to this disease and many are still fighting with it. Advancements in medicine have ensured that remissions are few and far between but the fight still remains. The stigma associated with the diseases, however, is vaning as people are coming out with their survival stories and showing the world how they are fighting against it every single day. One of Indian cinema’s legendary actresses however did her best but could not survive the disease. Nargis Dutt died fighting pancreatic cancer and it was in her memory that the Nargis Dutt Cancer Foundation was formed to help others.

An Unfilled Void

Just three days before her son Sanjay Dutt was to make his Bollywood debut, Nargis Dutt passed away from an illness which still has no definitive cure. The beautiful and talented actress had been suffering from pancreatic cancer for a long time and had undergone treatment for the same in New York at the Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center. She came back to India but by then her condition had deteriorated, and she was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital.

What Is Pancreatic Cancer?

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Pancreatic cancer is the cancer affecting the pancreas, which is part of the body’s digestive system, located horizontally behind the stomach’s lower part. Its function is to release enzymes that aid the process of digestion and it also regulates the hormones that regulate the blood sugar levels. Pancreatic cancer may begin as cysts and it usually spreads to the nearby organs which makes it very deadly as the digestive process starts to get affected and eventually shuts down.

Symptoms Of Pancreatic Cancer And Stages Of Diagnosis

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• Pain in upper part of abdomen that reaches to the back
• New-onset of diabetes
• Blood clots
• Fatigue
• Yellowing of skin and whites of eyes (jaundice)
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Depression

Risk Factors For Pancreatic Cancer

• Family history of genetic syndromes (mutation of BRCA2 gene, Lynch syndrome, FAMMM syndrome) or family history of the cancer
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Pancreatitis
• Older age

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Treatment of pancreatic cancer is standard involving radiation, chemotherapy, surgery or a combination of all of these. But the best thing as they say is prevention. So maintaining healthy weight, having a healthy diet and avoiding smoking can help with prevention of pancreatic cancer to an extent.

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