Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms

Pancreas:
Pancreas is a small (about 15 to 25 cm in length) but a very important organ of our digestive system. It produces various digestive juices to help digest the food we eat and also various important hormones such as glucagons, insulin and somatostatin etc.

Pancreatic Cancer:
Pancreatic cancer is a cancer of pancreas. It is one of the most common cancers around the world and fourth most common cause of cancer deaths in US.

Who is at risk?
Like any other cancer types, pancreatic cancer is most common in men than women and its risk goes on increasing with the age. According to a study obese people, cigarette smokers, and people who prefer junk or processed food and intake very less amount of fruits and vegetable in diet are at the highest risk of developing pancreatic cancer. It also has been recorded that people who have family history of pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis are at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Also, people suffering from digestive system infections, certain syndromes and people suffering from diseases such as diabetes are at risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

What are the symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer?
As the disease affects the most important organ of digestive system, it results in the symptoms such as lethargy/fatigue, weight loss, indigestion problems, jaundice, pain in abdominal area, problems with appetite, diarrhea, weakness etc. Patient also may experience pain in the back, nausea and vomiting sensations, the color of stool might change to grey or clay-colored stools, due to the problems with digestive system patient may experience paleness (yellowing of skin and whiteness of eyes). As the pancreatic cancer is associated with digestive system, it sometimes causes symptoms that are common in other digestive system related diseases.

How is pancreatic cancer diagnosed?
There are several ways to diagnose pancreatic cancer. Doctor may use abdominal MRI, CT scan, biopsy (in which cells/tissues from the pancreas is taken for test), ultrasound test, ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography), endoscopic ultrasound, Percutaneous Transhepatic Cholangiography (PTC), Angiography and Laparoscopy etc. in order to come to a conclusion about the disease. Generally, doctor may use one or multiple techniques in combination such as abdominal CT scan or X-Ray scan in order to find any abnormality and then biopsy of the pancreatic tissues in order to confirm the pancreatic carcinoma. Along with the above mentioned techniques, there are few more techniques available that can help in diagnosing the pancreatic cancer.

If the patient is suffering from pancreatic cancer, then the test results for few tests such as Liver Function Tests and Serum Bilirubin Test gets affected. In this case, doctors need more close diagnosis. (Please note: the test results of above mentioned tests can also get affected due to some drugs the patient is consuming or other diseases).

Pancreatic Cancer treatment:
Similar to most of the other types of cancers, pancreatic cancer also can be treated with surgery, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, medication, chemotherapy, nutritional therapy etc. Along with the above mentioned techniques, there are few more techniques currently under trial. Surgery is used to remove the infected part of the pancreas organ (which is also known as pancreaticoduodenectomy or Whipple Procedure) from the patient’s body. Medication can be used to destroy the remaining infected cells and help the patient regain strength after surgery. The type and combination of various treatments to be followed will be decided by physician based on the stage pancreatic cancer is in and the complexity involved.

In case if there is a complexity involved such as biliary obstruction or say Bile Transport Vessel Blockage, in such situations, surgeons need to first work on removing the blockage and then surgery to remove the infected part of pancreas.

However, there are certain side effects of various treatments such as destruction of uninfected cells after radiotherapy; patient might experience lethargy due to high power medication etc. It is very important to pay attention to patient’s diet and take proper medication after the cancer treatment.

Chances of survival of pancreatic cancer patients are less than 50%, where as the risk goes on increasing as the patient’s age increases and the complexity involved (for example if the tumor has spread across to other organs or tumor has grown to the extent where it cannot be removed so easily and also if patient have multiple medical problems etc.). The survival chances also depend on the stage in which pancreatic cancer is.

How should I minimize my risk of pancreatic cancer?
1) Quit smoking, as smokers are at the highest risk level of developing any type of cancer.
2) Try to include vegetables and fruits in your daily diet and avoid junk or processed food.
3) Try to avoid toxic substances such as chemicals etc. Take necessary precautions before you handle such things.
4) Exercise regularly in order to stay fit and active.