Pancreatic Cancer

The pancreas has 2 main functions.

1. it releases juices that help to digest food.
2. producing hormones like insulin and glucagons to help maintain blood sugar.

There are certain risk factors that can increase the chances of developing pancreatic cancer.

They are:
• Smoking.
• Long-standing diabetes .
• Chronic pancreatitis .
• Certain hereditary conditions, such as
  • hereditary pancreatitis,
  • multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 syndrome,
  • hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer,
  • von Hippel-Lindau syndrome,
  • ataxia-telangiectasia,
  • familial atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome.

Symptoms of pancreatic cancer include:

• Pain in the upper or lower back
• Jaundice, which is the yellowing of skin and whites of eyes
• Unexplained weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue

Pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect early due to several reasons. The first being there aren't many definitive symptoms early on. Signs of the cancer are also very similar to other illnesses. Also, pancreas is hidden behind other organs like the stomach, small intestine, liver, gall bladder, spleen, and bile ducts.

There are tests to be done to determine whether or not the cancer is present. They take pictures of the spleen and detect and cancerous cells surrounding the pancreas. Planning treatment is important so the doctor can decide what stage of cancer the patient is in, and whether or not removal is possible.

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