Aretha Franklin Died of Pancreatic Cancer: What We Know About It
Detroit Free Press staff
12:56 p.m. ET Aug. 16, 2018
Pancreatic cancer, blamed in the death of music icon Aretha Franklin, is a disease that can kill rapidly.
Henry Ford Health System says about 54,000 people each year in the U.S. are diagnosed with it.
Most pancreatic cancers start in exocrine cells, which produce digestive juices, according to the WebMD website. Endocrine cells in the gland produce hormones that regulate blood sugar.
Symptoms of this cancer include jaundice, pain in the stomach and back, and unexpected weight loss. The disease is more common in men and African-Americans. It is rarely detected in the early stages, experts said.
"What makes is so challenging is there is no early detection," said Julie Fleshman, president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, an advocacy organization. "Usually by the time it is diagnosed it is late stage and more difficult to treat."
What type of pancreatic cancer did Franklin have?
A family statement released by Franklin's publicist Gwendolyn Quinn said "Franklin's official cause of death was due to advance pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin's oncologist, Dr. Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute" in Detroit.
These type of tumors form from abnormal growth of the pancreas' endocrine cells, which make hormones to control blood-sugar levels. This form of pancreatic cancer typically grows more slowly than the more common forms of the disease, Fleshman said.
What is the survival rate?
The American Cancer Society estimates that only about one-quarter of those diagnosed with exocrine pancreas cancer survive for a year or more after their diagnosis. Just more than 8 percent are living five years after such a diagnosis. Early diagnosis is key to successfully treating the disease.
The pancreas is a flat organ in the abdomen, located between the stomach and the spine.
USA Today contributed to this report.
12:56 p.m. ET Aug. 16, 2018
Pancreatic cancer, blamed in the death of music icon Aretha Franklin, is a disease that can kill rapidly.
Henry Ford Health System says about 54,000 people each year in the U.S. are diagnosed with it.
Most pancreatic cancers start in exocrine cells, which produce digestive juices, according to the WebMD website. Endocrine cells in the gland produce hormones that regulate blood sugar.
Symptoms of this cancer include jaundice, pain in the stomach and back, and unexpected weight loss. The disease is more common in men and African-Americans. It is rarely detected in the early stages, experts said.
"What makes is so challenging is there is no early detection," said Julie Fleshman, president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, an advocacy organization. "Usually by the time it is diagnosed it is late stage and more difficult to treat."
What type of pancreatic cancer did Franklin have?
A family statement released by Franklin's publicist Gwendolyn Quinn said "Franklin's official cause of death was due to advance pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin's oncologist, Dr. Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute" in Detroit.
These type of tumors form from abnormal growth of the pancreas' endocrine cells, which make hormones to control blood-sugar levels. This form of pancreatic cancer typically grows more slowly than the more common forms of the disease, Fleshman said.
What is the survival rate?
The American Cancer Society estimates that only about one-quarter of those diagnosed with exocrine pancreas cancer survive for a year or more after their diagnosis. Just more than 8 percent are living five years after such a diagnosis. Early diagnosis is key to successfully treating the disease.
The pancreas is a flat organ in the abdomen, located between the stomach and the spine.
USA Today contributed to this report.
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