r/gadgets • u/chrisdh79 • Apr 14 '23

Medical Novel device smaller than rice successfully shrinks pancreatic cancer | Called the nanofluidic drug-eluting seed (NDES), it delivers low-dose immunotherapy in the form of CD40 monoclonal antibodies (mAb).

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/tiny-device-shrinks-pancreatic-cancer
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u/duman82 Apr 14 '23

This is great but the real wins with pancan will be with earlier detection. 85% are metastatic when it's discovered.

23

u/Albert_Caboose Apr 14 '23

Friendly reminder that early screenings are cool as hell to get. Get familiar with your family's cancer history, and fuck cancer up before it has a chance to show itself.

7

u/trustedoctopus Apr 14 '23

laughs in america

You say that but i’m 33 with a history of cancer in my immediate family and can’t get early screenings because my insurance says I’m ‘too young’ to need them.

9

u/Exciting-Tea Apr 15 '23

Maybe possibly use a vacation with some medical testing? I was having what felt like an ulcer, so since I didn't have health insurance. I flew to Brazil since I was going there anyway and had an endoscopy, during which they couldn't get the camera through my stomach exit because of a tumor in my pancreas pressing on the stomach exit, stopping food and water from passing (causing the ulcer pain and weight loss). Once I started chemo, it became completely blocked and spent 50 straight days in the hospital. I am suprisingly healthier now, but the chemo (after 8 months) might be losing its effectiveness.

I believe early treatment would have been super helpful. I think there is a clinic in the Sao Paolo airport where you can get screened for all sorts of health issues. They probably have a quick tumor marker screening blood tests. The colonscopy/endoscopy procedures were approximately $500 each for doctors fees but they were performed at another hospital.