It's possible to live 8 yr. after a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, but it has to detected at a very, very, early stage and be extremely small and localized. There's follow up treatment, of course, and monitoring. Unfortunately, tumors grow back and many times they grow and spread rapidly.
The usual marker is a 5 yr. survival, but that's rare. I've taken care of pancreatic cancer patients on the floor and in surgery. I've never had any patients that survived 5 yr., usually they pass within months. My one cousin's wife was diagnosed with it on a New Year's Eve and she passed 2 weeks later. The symptoms are really insidious and by the time of diagnosis it's progressed too far. Philip was very, very lucky.