About 60,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year in the United States. In the U.S., pancreatic cancer is about the 10^th leading cause of cancer, but the third leading cause of death related to cancer.

The average survival rates of patients with pancreatic cancer (specifically adenocarcinoma) are tough. It is important to remember that cancer is different in each patient and each person is unique. The statistics for survival tend to show overall rates, not individual cases.

Pancreatic cancer is a cancer that tends to cause symptoms when it is already in more advanced stages. The median length of survival for untreated advanced pancreatic cancer is about 3.5 months. This number rises to about 8 months with good treatment. It might be even higher now because treatments continue to get better. The five-year survival rate with good treatment is about 11%. However, many people do better than these averages.