Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ
behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass.
There are usually no symptoms in the cancer's early stages; by the time
of diagnosis, it has often spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms
of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the most common form of pancreatic cancer,
may include yellow skin, abdominal or back pain, unexplained weight
loss, light-colored stools, dark urine and loss of appetite. It rarely
occurs before the age of 40, and more than half of cases occur in those
over 70. The risk is lower among non-smokers and people who maintain a
healthy weight and limit their consumption of red or processed meat. It
can be treated with surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, palliative
care, or a combination of these, depending in part on the cancer stage.
It is never cured by nonsurgical treatments, though any of these will
sometimes improve quality of life, particularly palliative care. It
typically has a very poor prognosis: 25% of people live for one year
after diagnosis, and 5% for five years.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreatic_cancer>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1407:
During the Ming–Hồ War, the Chinese Ming armies captured
Hồ Quý Ly and his sons, thus ending the Vietnamese Hồ dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming%E2%80%93H%E1%BB%93_War>
1795:
French Revolutionary Wars: Off the coast of Brittany, a British
Royal Navy battle squadron commanded by William Cornwallis fended off a
numerically superior French Navy fleet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallis%27s_Retreat>
1883:
More than 180 out of 1,100 children died in the Victoria Hall
stampede in Sunderland, England, when they stampeded down the stairs to
collect gifts from the entertainers after the end of a variety show.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Hall_stampede>
1963:
Aboard Vostok 6, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became
the first woman in space.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova>
2010:
Bhutan became the first country to institute a total ban on
tobacco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_Control_Act_of_Bhutan_2010>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
zany:
1. Unusual and bizarre in a funny, comical way; outlandish; clownish.
2. Ludicrously or incongruously comical.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zany>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Secrets, silent, stony sit in the dark palaces of both our hearts:
secrets weary of their tyranny: tyrants, willing to be dethroned.
--Ulysses
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ulysses>