What is the Whipple procedure? Explaining Randy Moss' cancer surgery

WARMINSTER, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- On Friday, NFL Hall of Famer wide receiver Randy Moss revealed he is battling pancreatic cancer.

In a post on Instagram Live, the 47-year-old Moss said the tumor was found outside his bile duct, between his liver and pancreas.

Moss played 14 seasons in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl 5 times with the Minnesota Vikings, and the 6th in a record-breaking season with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

He said he'd been through 2 operations:: the first to put a stent in the bile duct, and the second, called a Whipple procedure, to remove the cancer itself.

Pancreatic cancer survival rates have more than doubled in the past decade.

According to Dr. Sanjay Reddy, a surgical oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center, it's not because of a single breakthrough, but better knowledge of the cancer, and more creative use of existing tools.

The advances are benefitting all ages.

Rosalie Swartz was almost 70.

"I had a pain in my lower shoulder," Swartz recalls.

Andre Burke was 38, and thought he had indigestion.

"Oh man, I must have had something to eat that I shouldn't have been eating," Burke recalls.

For both, it was pancreatic cancer.

And five years later, both are cancer-free and active.

Dr. Reddy says a multi-pronged approach is a key to longer lives.

"So it's not just surgery to take it out, but it's what other adjunct therapies do we have in our tool belt?" he notes.

Unlocking the genetics showed that up to 10% of cases have some family history of pancreatic cancer.

It took the life of Burke's father.

"There's a couple of mutations that are very commonly seen now in pancreatic cancer, and both of these patients had one of these," Dr. Reddy says.

While that can make someone more vulnerable to the cancer, it can actually improve success.

"In those patients, they respond very well to specific chemotherapies," Dr. Reddy says.

He adds, "It really has become a big game changer in pancreatic cancer."

Dr. Reddy and the Fox Chase team often use a chemo "sandwich" - treatment before and after surgery.

Andre said it made sense for his tumor, which was wrapped around a vein.

"We want to shrink it first, and then once we shrink it, we can operate on it and pull it out," he recalls.

And Dr. Reddy's plan was a major reason why he chose Fox Chase over other local cancer centers.

Chemo also eliminates floating cancer cells.

The primary surgery, called a Whipple procedure, is also more refined.

"It's just a little bit of the stomach," he notes, adding, "A little bit of the gall bladder, a little bit of the pancreas - maybe only 10% of your pancreas."

The flexible, individualized therapy is more doable even for older patients.

"I don't think my age ever came up," says Swartz with a smile.

Today, Swartz exercises almost daily, sits on four committees in her community, and enjoys seeing her grandchildren grow.

"If someone were to ask me, I would say I would do it again," she says confidently.

And Burke is still operating intercity passenger trains.

"I was back to full tilt 3 weeks after the surgery," he says happily.