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MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: Pancreatic cancer is a disease that begins in one of your digestive organs, the pancreas. It is located just behind the stomach. Your pancreas is made up of a head, body, and tail. It contains two main cell types. One type called exocrine cells produce digestive enzymes that are secreted into tubes called ducts. The enzymes traveling through ducts eventually empty into your small intestine, where they aid in digestion. The other type of pancreatic cell is called an endocrine cell. Endocrine cells are clustered into groups known as the islet of Langerhans. These cells produce the hormones insulin and glucagon which are released into the bloodstream to help control your blood sugar level. Pancreatic cancer starts as mutations of pancreatic cells causing them to grow very quickly and uncontrollably. The mutated cells will often clump together to form tumors which can interfere with the normal pancreas function. Like this tumor most pancreatic cancers form in the ducts and are called adenocarcinomas or exocrine tumors. Endocrine tumors which developed from islets of Langerhans are much less common. Your doctor will recommend treatment based on the type of cell involved, location, and stage of your cancer. Treatment may include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or a combination of treatments. There are three surgical options to treat pancreatic cancer. During a Whipple procedure also called a pancreatoduodenectomy your surgeon will remove the head of your pancreas, your gallbladder, and portions of your common bile duct, small intestine, and stomach. The remaining structures will be arranged in such a way to allow continued digestion. In a total pancreatectomy your surgeon will remove your entire pancreas, common bile duct, gallbladder, spleen, and surrounding lymph nodes, as well as portions of your stomach and small intestine. During a distal pancreatectomy your surgeon will removed the body and tail of the pancreas as well as your spleen. Radiation or radiotherapy uses high energy rays to kill cancer cells in the treated area only. If the radiation originates from a machine outside your body, the treatment is called external beam radiation therapy. Radiation therapy placed inside your body in the form of radioactive pellets is called brachytherapy or internal radiation therapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the progression of cancer by either killing the cells or preventing further growth. Systemic chemotherapy is taken by mouth or an injection allowing the drugs to travel through the bloodstream to reach cancer cells throughout the body. Regional chemotherapy involves the injection of the drug into the arteries surrounding the tumor allowing immediate delivery to the cancer cells. Targeted therapies focus on specific abnormalities of cancer cells. One targeted therapy erlotinib is thought to stop tumor growth by blocking chemical signals that initiate cell growth and division.
"The illustrations have consistently been well documented, accurate and
timely. Most important though is that the illustrations demonstrate to
juries and claims people the persuasive power of visual communication. Our
firm has achieved multiple eight figure settlements and verdicts over the
past ten years... Medical Legal Art has been there with us on every case."
Thomas C. Jones
Davis, Bethune & Jones, L.L.C.
Kansas City, MO www.dbjlaw.net
"It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Medical Legal Art. We have
used their services for three years and always found their professionalism,
quality of work, and timely attention to detail to exceed our expectations.
We recently settled two complicated catastrophic injury cases. One medical
malpractice case involving a spinal abscess settled for 3.75 million and the
other involving injuries related to a motor vehicle accident settled for 6.9
million. We consider the artwork provided by MLA to have been invaluable in
helping us to successfully conclude these cases.
I highly recommend MLA to anyone seeking high quality, detailed medical
legal artwork."
E. Marcus Davis, Esq.
Davis Zipperman, Krischenbaum & Lotito
Atlanta, GA www.emarcusdavis.com
"For us, the defining feature of effective demonstrative evidence is
whether, by itself, the piece will tell the story of the case. Medical legal
Art provides our firm with illustrations and animations that are clear and
persuasive. Their exhibits tell the story in a way that allows the jury to
understand a very complex subject, very quickly."
James D. Horwitz Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, P.C. Bridgeport, CT
"I wanted to take some time out to let you know what a wonderful job you did
with the 'collapsed lung/fractured rib' illustrations. They were both
detailed and accurate. My medical expert was comfortable working with them
and he spent at least an hour explaining to the jury the anatomy of the
lungs, the ribs and the injuries depicted in the illustrations. Needless to
say, the jury was riveted to the doctor during his testimony.
The jury returned a verdict for $800,000.00 and I'm sure we would not have
done so well if not for the visualizations we were able to put forth with
your assistance. Lastly, my special thanks to Alice [Senior Medical
Illustrator] who stayed late on Friday night and patiently dealt with my
last minute revisions."
Medical Legal Art creates medical demonstrative evidence (medical
illustrations, drawings, pictures, graphics, charts, medical animations,
anatomical models, and interactive presentations) for use during legal
proceedings, including research, demand letters, client conferences,
depositions, arbitrations, mediations, settlement conferences, mock jury
trials and for use in the courtroom. We do not provide legal or medical
advice. If you have legal questions, you should find a lawyer with whom you
can discuss your case issues. If you have medical questions, you should seek the advice of a healthcare provider.