Medical Services • Pancreas Care

Using technology to advance pancreatic cancer treatment

At Northwest Community Hospital, we're dedicated to providing the latest technologies and best treatment in Chicago to patients with pancreatic cancer and pancreatic diseases like pancreatitis.

Thanks to Malcolm Bilimoria, MD, the surgical oncologist who heads up the Illinois Center for Pancreatic and Hepatobiliary Diseases at NCH, we're now able to offer our pancreas cancer patients the Whipple procedure.

Also called a Whipple resection, this procedure increases survival and offers a real chance for a cure for many pancreatic cancer patients, making it the best treatment in Chicago. The Whipple procedure is a difficult and complicated surgery, and surgeons and hospitals that perform the most operations have the best results. Dr. Bilimoria has performed more than 600 Whipple surgical procedures in his career.

Surgical procedures for pancreatic cancer and diseases that are among the best treatments in Chicago

• Whipple procedure or pancreaticoduodenectomy is the most common operation performed for pancreatic cancer symptoms. It is also used in the treatment of other types of cancer, including small bowel cancer. Surgeons remove the head of the pancreas, parts of the stomach and small intestine, some lymph nodes, the gallbladder and the common bile duct. The remaining organs are reconnected in a new way to allow digestion. Patients leave the hospital in an average of 14 days.
• Total pancreatectomy is performed infrequently because lifelong adverse effects may result. In this surgery, surgeons remove the entire pancreas, bile duct, gallbladder and spleen, and possibly portions of the small intestine, stomach and nearby lymph nodes.
• Distal pancreatectomy is performed to remove tumors of the body and tail of the pancreas. The tail of the pancreas can be removed with the main portion of the organ left intact. This surgery is commonly performed for patients with chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic tumors localized in the end of the pancreas, pancreatic pseudocysts or injury due to trauma. The spleen is usually removed during this surgery because of the close proximity of the organs. This procedure eliminates the need for surgical reconstruction.

Alternative treatments for pancreatic cancer

• External beam radiation therapy kills the cancer cells through radiation.
• Chemotherapy consists of medications given to help shrink the tumor.
• Computerized tomographic radiotherapy simulator (CT-SIM) accurately targets cancerous tumors with radiation while sparing the surrounding tissue.
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), a procedure done to diagnose and treat bile duct stones, and other conditions of the biliary system and pancreas. NCH has two interventional suites with digital fluoroscopy.

If you or someone you love has pancreatic cancer, find out how you can get the best treatment in Chicago. Call the Illinois Center for Pancreatic and Hepatobiliary Diseases for a referral to a doctor specializing in pancreatic or hepatobiliary diseases at 847.483.9400.