Gemcitabine and Oxaliplatin in Treating Patients With Pancreatic Cancer That Can Be Removed By Surgery

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine and oxaliplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving chemotherapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. Giving chemotherapy after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving gemcitabine together with oxaliplatin works in treating patients with pancreatic cancer that can be removed by surgery.