Subtle early signs of silent killer that only 10 percent of people survive
Every day 29 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK and it is one of the deadliest cancers because of its low survival rates. Although it’s relatively uncommon, pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed too late for effective treatment.
However, there are some early warning signs to check for that could improve your chances of survival. Dr Deborah Lee from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy knows only too well how devastating a diagnosis can be after her dad and grandmother died from cancer of the pancreas, meaning she is at a higher risk of being diagnosed with the disease herself. Here, she explains what you can do to check for potential symptoms and get early diagnosis and treatment.
Signs of pancreatic cancer
Dubbed a silent killer because it’s difficult to detect, pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed by doctors when sadly it is already too late for the patient. That’s because it takes 10 to 20 years for pancreatic cancer to grow, but for the vast majority of this time, it causes no symptoms. Less than 10 percent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer live for five years.
One of the first signs of pancreatic cancer could be jaundice (Getty Images/iStockphoto)If it’s detected early, it can be treated like other types of cancer, so it’s important to know what signs to look out for. Typically, the first symptom a person notices with pancreatic cancer is jaundice - a yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes, dark urine (like a pint of Guinness) and pale putty-coloured stools.
Dr Deborah Lee said: “Jaundice doesn’t come on overnight - it usually develops slowly over a period of weeks or months. Other symptoms that could be down to pancreatic cancer include nausea, vomiting, indigestion, loss of appetite and unexplained weight loss. Some people may also suffer abdominal or back pain.”
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Another common complaint from people with pancreatic cancer is a change in their bowel habits, causing smelly, pale greasy stools that are difficult to flush away. It can also lead to diarrhoea or constipation and could cause diabetes.
Less well known pancreatic cancer symptoms
“Some pancreatic cancer patients become diabetic because their pancreas is not producing insulin as it should,” Dr Lee adds. “Symptoms of diabetes may be present, such as feeling thirsty, peeing a lot, feeling weak, feeling hungry, weight loss and having frequent minor infections.”
What’s less well known is that pancreatic cancer can increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – or a blood clot. The first sign of the disease could even be a painful swollen calf muscle, or a cough, breathlessness and chest pain. The longer it goes undiagnosed, the more likely it is to have spread to other parts of the body like the bone.
“If pancreatic cancer is diagnosed at an advanced stage, it may have spread to the bone,” Dr Lee explains. “This is called metastatic cancer. Bone metastases are extremely painful, and the bone is more likely to fracture. Patients with spinal metastases complain of severe back pain. Bone cancer causes hypercalcaemia (raised calcium levels) which can cause confusion, dehydration, vomiting and constipation.”
What can people do to reduce risk of pancreatic cancer?
Unfortunately, when pancreatic cancer is usually diagnosed only 15 to 20 percent of pancreatic cancers are suitable for surgery. However, experts say pancreatic cancer could be diagnosed up to three years earlier if unexplained weight loss and raised glycosylated haemoglobin levels (a marker of blood glucose control) were used as early indicators of the disease.
Dr Lee advises making an appointment with your GP immediately if you have any of the symptoms she’s described, especially unexplained weight loss, jaundice, sickness for two days, or diarrhoea for seven days or more, or if you feel generally unwell.
There is no screening programme for pancreatic cancer as despite it’s low survival rate it’s still relatively uncommon. However, you can have some screening tests for pancreatic cancer as part of the European Registry of Hereditary Pancreatitis and Pancreatic Cancer (EUROPAC) study if -
- You have had two or more relatives with pancreatic cancer
- One relative with Lynch syndrome and one with pancreatic cancer
- Hereditary pancreatitis and a faulty PRSS1 gene
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- Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.
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