Steve Jobs, Patrick Swayze, Alan Rickman, Jerry Adriani, Marly Marley, Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Crawford, Marcello Mastroianni and Raul Cortez share a tragic fate: they all died of pancreatic cancer. Considered the most lethal of cancers, pancreatic cancer tends to victimize 75% of patients within the first year after discovery. The rate increases to a staggering 94% over the five-year period.

Presenter and journalist Marcelo Rezende, 65, revealed that he had this disease in May. Since then, he turned away from television to take care of his health and, unfortunately, died last Saturday. In the end, Rezende's cancer had already spread to the liver and compromised part of his digestive tract, leading to multiple organ failure. But after all, why is pancreatic cancer so aggressive?

As with all such diseases, this type of cancer happens when pancreatic cells reproduce in a disorderly and abnormal manner. Many of these cells eventually spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to attack other organs, most commonly the liver and lungs.

Journalist Marcelo Rezende discovered cancer in May

One of the biggest problems is that pancreatic cancer has symptoms that can be confused with other diseases. The most common are vomiting, abdominal pain and lack of appetite. In addition, this organ is located in the middle of the abdomen, in a relatively difficult place to access. Because of this, this cancer is usually discovered in advanced stages or when extending to other parts of the body.

Twenty to twenty-five percent of the time pancreatic cancer is discovered before it spreads, it turns out to be completely inoperable, meaning that the most effective treatment that would be surgery is being ruled out by doctors. And even when the operation is possible, the mortality rate is quite high, reaching 70%.

The pancreas is located in the middle of the abdomen and is among other organs, making early diagnosis difficult

Chemotherapy is used more as a palliative treatment to slow the progression of the disease and lessen its symptoms. Because it is an extremely aggressive tumor, it resists chemo with some ease. Because of this, many patients decide to seek alternative treatments, such as journalist Marcelo Rezende, who decided to test a diet based on protein and fat, eliminating carbohydrates and, thus, trying to kill cancer cells "starving", since the glucose supply to them becomes very scarce.

Other people also seek spiritual help - Rezende himself confessed to having attended a retreat called Pharmacy of God in the city of Juiz de Fora (MG). These alternative therapies are not prohibited, but tend to be discouraged by those who really understand oncology.