Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2006 and recently hospitalized with a fever, died at his native Modena home on Thursday. With him were his wife Nicoletta, four daughters, and his sister. He was 71.
Friends and family had hoped for a miracle for Pavarotti. Sadly, this was not possible. Though to have survived pancreatic cancer for more than one year is quite amazing. The disease is deadly in most cases and most survive for only months.

Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just before he was set to resume a farewell tour in July 2006. Instead, he headed for surgery. He never again performed publicly.

Italian opera great Luciano Pavarotti, in the midst of a battle with pancreatic cancer that began in July 2006, was released from the hospital Saturday after two weeks of hospitalization due to a high fever.

The 71-year-old Pavarotti is now at home where he will be closely monitored by doctors.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, often detected in its latest stages and affording patients only months of survival. Pavarotti has survived the disease for more than one year.

Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, who had surgery for pancreatic cancer in July 2006 and then was hospitalized this August 8 due to a high fever, will stay in the hospital for further testing related to his disease.

Pavarotti, 71, is now fever-free. Still, he will remain hospitalized so his cancer can be fully investigated.

At the time of Pavarotti's surgery, he had been planning to resume his farewell tour. But he has made no public appearances since this time.

Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, hospitalized on Wednesday with a fever, is doing better and should be discharged within the next few days, according to his wife, Nicoletta Mantovani.

The 71-year-old tenor underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer one year ago and has since endured at least five rounds of chemotherapy. Although not confirmed, some sources say Pavarotti has pneumonia.

If you eat a lot of things with a high glycemic load, which is a measurement of how quickly food raises your blood sugar, you may have problems not only related to diabetes or being over weight, but you could run a higher risk of colorectal cancer. A Harvard Medical School study involving 38,000 women saw an increased risk of colon cancer related to the white foods like pasta, white rice, white bread, potatoes, and pastries. The lower glycemic load foods like whole wheat bread or multi grain breads and brown rice comes with fiber. Another Harvard study showed an increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer in women who are overweight and sedentary.

Diehl Martin of Guntersville, Alabama, has been battling pancreatic cancer since 2004 and shares his experience on his blog, DiehlMartin.com . Martin was diagnosed in 2004 and underwent a Whipple procedure that year, followed by radiation and chemotherapy treatments. At the end of 2006, he experienced a turnaround as his energy level returned, his pain was eliminated and his tumor marker level was back to normal. Recently, his cancer has rebounded and he shares his experience with increasingly aggressive chemotherapy.

In addition to his daily experiences with pancreatic cancer, Martin offers medical information from a patient's perspective, including details regarding the side effects of painkillers, what a typical chemotherapy infusion looks like and what is involved in a Whipple procedure.

Martin infuses his blog with a strong sense of his faith and cautions that his story is not the typical pancreatic cancer story, as his cancer was caught very early. Martin's generosity of spirit pours out through his words and his ability to see the silver lining in every cloud is inspirational.

Why are many early-stage pancreatic cancers not treated with life-extending surgery? It seems that one of the reasons might be that physicians in general have pessimistic views toward all patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and are subsequently not being offered surgery.

There are instances where surgery is not an option but it seems that many cases, more often patients over the age of 65, African Americans, patients with lower incomes or those who are on Medicare or Medicade are passed over and not given this life-extending surgery and a chance for cure.

A study published this week by the Annals of Surgery said there is an under-use of curative resection for pancreatic cancer. Pancreatectomy is the primary treatment for early-stage disease. Over the years the survival results from this surgery have improved, giving at this time 19 percent of patients a five-year survival rate.

More than 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed this year with pancreatic cancer. Around 75 percent of those diagnosed will die of their disease. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, yet one of the most underfunded for research.

Only one percent of the National Cancer Institute research investment money was spend on pancreatic cancer in 2006. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) are calling on Congress to support a minimum of 6.7 percent increase to meet this urgent need.

Julie Fleshman, PanCAN President and CEO, says "The need for more research is tremendous and our voices must be heard. No effective early detection methods currently exist and there are minimal treatment options available. And very little research being done due to limited research funding".

New research may one one day help in the diagnosis and prognosis of the nation's number four cancer killer of men and number five cancer killer of women. The killer: pancreatic cancer.

Findings from an Ohio State University study show pancreatic cancer cells may leave signs in gene-related molecules called microRNAs.

Published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, this study examined pancreatic tissue from 65 people with the disease and 42 people with chronic inflammation of the pancreas, called chronic pancreatitis.

Cancer is a scary word -- pancreatic cancer is beyond scary. It has one of the highest mortality rates of all cancers. Symptoms of the disease usually are hard to recognize and most patients are diagnosed in the advanced stages.

Anytime I read about a new drug that can increase the survival of this deadly disease I get excited. An early online publication of the Journal of Clinical Oncology states that the addition to the targeted agent Tarceva (erlotinib) to Gemzar (gemcitabine) can improve survival in patients diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.

The Phase III clinical trial included 569 patients who were either treated with Tarceva plus Gemzar or Gemzar plus placebo. At one year the survival of those treated with the drug combination reached 23 percent. Gemzar alone had a 17 percent survival rate at one year. The study also said that more patients treated with the combination of Tarceva/Gemzar achieved stabilization of their disease.

I am hoping that sooner, rather than later this disease will not be beyond scary and will be something that can be treated, controlled and one day cured.

A high intake of vitamin C has been shown to reduce the risks for virtually all forms of cancer, including leukemia, lymphoma, and lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers as well as sex hormone related cancers like breast, prostate, cervix, and ovarian cancers. Vitamin C is your body's first and most effective line of antioxidant protection. Vitamin C protects cell structures like DNA from damage and it helps the body deal with environmental pollution and toxic chemicals. Vitamin C enhances immune function, and it inhibits the formation of cancer causing compounds in the body (such as the nitrosamines, chemicals produced when the body digests processed meats containing nitrates).

Dr. Douglas Brodie states in the book, Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide to Cancer, "Each one of us produces several hundred thousand cancer cells every day of our lives. Whether we develop clinical cancer or not depends upon the ability of our immune systems to destroy these cancer cells. That's because cancer thrives in the presence of a deficient immune system."

Here is a list of foods high in vitamin C. Adding these foods to your daily diet will help boost your immune system which will aid you in fighting off many diseases as well as cancer.
Fruits and vegetables are both high in Vitamin C. The highest are papaya, raw red and green peppers, oranges, cantaloupe, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, baked potato, cabbage, green peas, kiwi fruit, and kale.

There are a few good vitamin C supplements on the market but one that I particularly am using at present to super charge my immune system is Emergen-C Super Energy Booster which has 1,000mg of vitamin C along with vitamin B and 32 mineral complexes.

ImClone Systems Inc.'s drug Erbitux has failed to help pancreatic cancer patients live longer. It's also failed to grow ImClone's market -- not surprising since it's the company's only drug.

Imclone, partnering with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., wanted to see Erbitux -- already cleared for use with colon, head, and neck cancers -- extend the lives of patients with cancer marked by a spread to the pancreas.

No one is giving up just yet, and Imclone plans additional tests on Erbitux's use in pancreatic cancer. A study using a combination of Erbitux and Avastin and chemotherapy is up next.

"There are reasons to think Erbitux works in pancreatic cancer, but the current results are not as dramatic as we hoped," said Alex Denner, lead for an executive committee that manages ImClone. "We remain committed to evaluating Erbitux in pancreatic cancer."

If approved, Erbitux will compete with Tarceva, sold by Roche Holding AG, Genentech Inc., and OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. as a treatment for pancreatic and lung cancers.

About 37,170 new cases of pancreatic cancer are expected to occur in 2007 in the United States. And 33,370 people will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers, and there is no screening option that works at catching the disease in its early stages.

Only about 5 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer are still alive five years after being diagnosed.

It's already been established that type 2 diabetes increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. And now, research indicates there is also a link between type 1 diabetes and this type of cancer.

The risk is relatively small -- but still, those with type 1 diabetes have a likelihood of developing pancreatic cancer that is twice as high as in non-diabetics. This is similar to the risk those with type 2 diabetes face.

There are many theories about the link between diabetes and pancreatic cancer, and this research -- published in the British Journal of Cancer -- helps narrow the scope of the theories.

For example, one researcher says the study rules out "a cancer-inducing role of the insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas, because in type 1 diabetes these cells have largely or entirely been destroyed."

Experts say people with diabetes should focus their attention on the most common complications of diabetes such as heart disease, eye disease, and kidney disease and not on the very small risk of cancer. In the whole scheme of things, pancreatic cancer is a rare disease -- and even twice the risk is not very significant.

Researchers have made a stem cell discovery that may help treat pancreatic cancer -- one of the deadliest forms of the disease.

University of Michigan scientists have found cancer stem cells in pancreatic tumors that appear to drive cell tumor growth and could lead to the development of drugs to target and kill these cells.

Pancreatic cancer kills 97 percent of people diagnosed with the disease within five years. Half of all diagnosed patients die within six months of diagnosis, and this cancer -- that spreads quickly and is rarely detected at an early state -- kills 33,000 each year in the United States alone. So any improvement in the study of this disease is a true gift.

"The clinical implications of this work are significant," said Dr. Diane Simeone, director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Centre and lead author of the study, published in the journal Cancer Research.

"We've made baby steps in improving the survival in these patients -- on the order of a few months (longer to live) -- over the past decade or so. But we really haven't had a major breakthrough in coming up with something that has the potential to provide a cure," she said.

Simeone says killing these cancer stem cells is like pulling out the root of a weed. And she says the best way to pull out the root is to target these stem cells instead of the traditional approach of shrinking tumors by killing as many cells as possible -- an approach that may be flawed because cancer stem cells tend to resist standard therapies.

One week ago, researchers found themselves humbled by the disappointing fact that promising cancer drug Avastin had failed to help patients with pancreatic cancer live longer. In fact, not only did the drug fail to extend survival, it actually caused adverse side effects such high blood pressure and bleeding in the stomach and intestine.

In a study of 600 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, those who received Avastin in addition to standard chemotherapy lived for only six months -- the same amount of time as those who received chemotherapy alone.

Earlier studies predicted Avastin might improve survival. It worked in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. And so it was no surprise that crowds of pancreatic cancer patients wanted a shot at this potential wonder drug that in the end turned out -- for them -- to be not so wondrous.