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May 20, 2014

Up And Coming Killer

Smart money is on pancreatic cancer to become the second highest cause of cancer deaths in the US within the next six years.

Pancreatic cancer is expected to become the second most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States in 2020, overtaking deaths from breast and colon cancers, according to new research.

The disease, which claimed the lives of both Steve Jobs and Patrick Swayze, is set for a 'startling' rise.
Currently, the top three causes of cancer-related death in the United States are lung, colorectal and breast cancers.

[...]By combining predicted demographic changes and changes to the incidence and death rates of specific cancers, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network was able to project numbers of diagnoses and deaths for major cancers in the US in the coming years.


My internist pokes me in my fat gut and says this is a "Diabetes Factory." He warns that starch/sugar is the culprit here and that the pancreas is forced to make more insulin than it should because of sugar and the starches that are so readily converted to sugar. He thinks there is a direct causation with cancer and a high starch, high sugar diet.

I am beginning to think he is right. As I see the number of fat kids in school today (I think there were maybe a dozen or so fat kids in my whole high school of nearly 1,000 kids back in the 60's) I can see where to lay my money in the cancer sweepstakes. Throw lung cancer and diabetes into the race and it's a Trifecta O'Death.American Society for Clinical Nutrition

From the American Society for Clinical Nutrition:
Consumption of sugar and sugar-sweetened foods and the risk of pancreatic cancer in a prospective study

Emerging evidence indicates that hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia may be implicated in the development of pancreatic cancer. Frequent consumption of sugar and high-sugar foods may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by inducing frequent postprandial hyperglycemia, increasing insulin demand, and decreasing insulin sensitivity.

INTRODUCTION
Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly cancers: the overall 5-y survival rate is only ≈5% (1). Because of this poor prognosis, identification of modifiable risk factors for pancreatic cancer is important. Evidence is mounting that abnormal glucose metabolism and hyperinsulinemia may be involved in the development of pancreatic cancer. Conditions such as diabetes mellitus, a high body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2), and physical inactivity, all hallmarks of insulin resistance, have been directly related to the risk of this malignancy (2-5). Moreover, prospective studies have reported approximately twice the risk of pancreatic cancer in persons in the highest category of postload plasma glucose (6), fasting serum glucose (7, 8), or fasting insulin (7) concentrations compared with persons in the lowest category.

More here, here, and here.

2 comments:

LL said...

I'm a diabetic. It sucks. I keep it under control with a combination of self discipline (take the fork out of my mouth) and pills.

But it still sucks - and it will in all likelihood be the thing that kills me unless a burning bus rolls over me first.

sig94 said...

LL - sorry to hear that. It's good to know you can control it with diet and pills rather than injections.

The buses are harder to control. Stay out of Palestine.

I am pre-diabetic which is why my doctor is yelling at me. The wife and I stared our new eating regime on Monday and I hope to see some indications that it is working. It's basically like the South Beach plan but with newer recipes and Davis instead of Atkins.