When thinking about your treatment, your doctors will take into account:

• the type of cancer you have (for example, some types of pancreatic cancer respond better to surgery than others)
• how advanced the cancer is, and whether it has spread
• your age, general health and fitness (some patients may not be strong enough to go through major surgery, for instance).

Your doctors will tell you about the risks, benefits and side-effects of the treatments being offered, and how they may affect your life afterwards. They will take your wishes into account.

You will then need to agree to the treatment before it can start. This is called giving your consent. Don’t be afraid to ask if there is anything you don’t understand.

Treatment with the aim of cure
Treatment to relieve symptoms