The book publisher Simon & Schuster bought the rights to a memoir by Patrick Swayze. This book will be about Swayze's battle with cancer, and will be ready for publication this autumn. The yet-to-be titled book is being co-written by Swayze’s wife Lisa Niemi and will offer an account of his childhood, career and marriage, as well as his battle with stage four pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas which is a large organ that lies behind the lower part of your stomach. Your pancreas secretes enzymes that aid in digestion and provides the body with hormones to help regulate the metabolism of sugars. Pancreatic cancer often has a poor prognosis, even when diagnosed early. This form of cancer spreads rapidly and is very seldom detected in its early stages, which is a big part of the reason why it's a leading cause of cancer death. Symptoms may not appear until pancreatic cancer has advanced enough that surgical removal isn't possible.
Where there is hope
A critical pathway that represents a possible "Rosetta Stone" to all aspects of our health including the fight against cancer is that involving the metabolism of omega-6 fatty acids. High dietary intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with reduction in cancer, and scientists suspect the chemical quercetin may be partly responsible. Research shows that quercetin influences cellular mechanisms in vitro and in animal studies, and there is some limited evidence from studies in humans that quercetin may reduce the risk of some cancers. There is increasing evidence that food-derived polyphenols have a beneficial effect for cancers. Food-derived polyphenols inhibit pancreatic cancer growth through mitochondrial cytochrome C release and apoptosis. In some studies quercetin decreased primary tumor growth, increased apoptosis and prevented metastasis in a model of pancreatic cancer.
Foods rich in quercetin include capers, apples, tea, kale, onions, especially red onions, red grapes, citrus fruit, tomato, broccoli and other leafy green vegetables. A number of berries also contain quercetin including cherries, raspberries, lingonberry, and cranberries. Researchers from Germany tracked food intake and health outcomes of a health study for eight years. The study evaluated food consumption and calculated the intake of the three flavonols, quercetin being one of them. The analyses determined that flavonol intake does have an impact on the risk for developing pancreatic cancer. Smokers with the lowest intake of flavonols bore the most risk of pancreatic cancer. Smoking is an established risk factor for the often fatal pancreatic cancer. Among other findings were that women had the highest intake of total flavonols and 70% of the flavonol intake came from quercetin, linked to consumption of apple and onions. These flavonols seem to exert their anti-cancer effects because of their ability to reduce oxidative stress and alter certain cellular functions related to cancer development.
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