DEAR DOCTORS: My uncle had been feeling nauseous, so he saw his doctor. He figured it was a stomach bug. After getting an MRI, he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. He died just two months later. Needless to say, our family is in shock. Is this cancer always so dangerous? Why is it so hard to diagnose?
DEAR READER: Although pancreatic cancer accounts for just 3% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States, it's the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Only lung and colorectal cancers take more lives each year. It occurs slightly more often in men than in women, and it rarely appears before the age of 45. About two-thirds of patients are at least 65 years old at the time of diagnosis.
