Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Program at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center is the only cancer center in the region recognized by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Your prognosis will depend on:

• Your diagnosis.
• Your overall health.
• How well your pancreatic cancer care team expects your treatment plan to work.

Our team will develop an individualized plan of care with the goal of giving you the best outcome possible.

Our team has expert knowledge and skill in treating cancers of the pancreas.

We care for people with:

• Exocrine pancreatic cancer (adenocarcinoma)
• Ampullary and bile duct cancer
• Benign pancreatic disease
• Cysts and cystic neoplasms
• Duodenal polyps and cancers
• Locally advanced pancreatic cancer
• Metastatic pancreatic cancer
• Neuroendocrine tumors (islet cell tumors)

We also treat cancers of the:

• Pancreasdistal esophagus
• Stomach
• Bile ducts
• Duodenum
• Small intestine

Our goal is to deliver complete pancreatic cancer care at every step, from diagnosis through treatment and follow-up.

Depending on the treatment approach, your team may include specialists in:

• Surgical oncology: Cancer surgeons can remove the tumor, relieve symptoms, or prevent complications.
• Medical oncology: Medical oncologists use drug treatments, biological therapies, and regional perfusion.
• Radiation oncology: Radiation therapy uses electron beams to kill cancer cells.
• Pathology: Pathologists can diagnose pancreatic cancer by studying tissue samples.
• Gastroenterology: Gastroenterologists may order tests for people experiencing digestive issues that lead to in a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. They also may play a role during treatment.
• Pain management: This includes specialists in physical and emotional pain who will work with you to achieve pain relief.
• Palliative care: Our palliative and supportive care team members will work with you and your family for symptom management, family support, psychosocial care and spiritual care. They also help with discharge planning and integrate inpatient services with outpatient and home-based programs.

Find a pancreatic cancer specialist at UPMC.

Your individual treatment program may include one or more of these approaches:

• Surgery
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation

If you're able to take part in a clinical trial, you may receive access to treatment that is unavailable elsewhere.

Because we treat the whole patient — not just the disease — UPMC Hillman Cancer Center offers supportive services.

Supportive care can enhance your treatment program and aid in healing. It can also help you cope with the physical and logistical demands of pancreatic cancer treatment.

You and your family members may meet with experts in:

• Behavioral medicine
• Nutrition
• Pain management
• Palliative and supportive care
• Social work

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center’s Pancreatic Cancer Program includes research of new detection and treatment methods, along with clinical trials, many of which are not available elsewhere.

Through research, our experts work to better understand and treat pancreatic cancer and to develop ways to detect pancreatic cancer earlier, when it can be easier to treat.