Pancreatitis Support Group
Chronic pancreatitis can present as episodes of acute inflammation in a previously injured pancreas, or as chronic damage with persistent pain or malabsorption. Patients with chronic pancreatitis can present with persistent abdominal pain or steatorrhea, as well as severe nausea. Some patients with chronic pancreatitis often look very sick, while others don't appear to be...
I just read this on EHOW and Digg health: Survival Rate Patients suffering from pancreatic cancer have a 5 percent survival rate at five years, meaning that only 5 percent of the patients will live five years after their diagnosis. Those patients that undergo the Whipple procedure, however, increase their survival rate to 20 percent at five years. For those patients whose cancer has not spread to lymph nodes, they have a 40 percent survival rate at five years. For patients with a benign (noncancerous) tumor or chronic pancreatitis, the procedure is curative, meaning they will enjoy a long natural life.- why wouldn't more CP suffers have whipple?
A common feature of autoimmune pancreatitis is elevated blood levels of an antibody called IgG4. If your doctor suspects that you have autoimmune pancreatitis, you're likely to have a blood test to check your IgG4 levels. Yet a positive test doesn't always mean that you have AIP. Studies conducted at Mayo Clinic have shown that a small number of patients who don't have autoimmune pancreatitis, including some with pancreatic cancer, also have high blood levels of IgG4 antibodies.
Good Luck!
http://www.bing.com/health/article.aspx?id=articles/wp/pages/p/a/n/Pancreaticoduodenectomy.html&br=lv&q=whipple+procedure&FORM=K1RE1