What Are The Symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer?
The pancreas is a small gland located behind the stomach, liver, spleen and other organs and in front of the spine. Although it is considered rare cancer can develop in this gland that is about 6 inches in size and resembles the size of a sideways pear. The pancreas consists of three parts, the head, the body, and the smallest part the tail.
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer vary from one person to another dependent upon which area of the pancreas is affected as well as the size of the tumor. For instance a tumor located at the head of the pancreas may create a blockage preventing bile from exiting thus resulting in a yellowing of the skin also known as jaundice.
In other cases such as when tumors may be located within the tail or body of the pancreas other symptoms may be more likely such as stomach pain, diarrhea and weight loss.
Each person is different and the symptoms experienced by one person may be different for someone else. These symptoms also can be different based on the size of the tumor as well. A small tumor may not produce many of these symptoms.
Some of the most common symptoms include weight loss, vomiting, nausea, stomach pain, jaundice or a yellowing of the skin and eyes, early development of diabetes, loss of appetite, itchy skin, diarrhea and changes in the color of stool or urine.
In many cases the symptoms of pancreatic cancer do not present themselves right away in development of pancreatic cancer. For this reason it is very difficult to make an early diagnosis of this type of cancer. Even when symptoms are present early on they are often overlooked or associated with other illnesses or diseases. This also makes discovery of pancreatic cancer difficult.
As with any disease early detection is a very important factor when it comes to treatment options. Pancreatic cancer is no exception however in many cases this cancer is not detected until it is in its later stages and has already spread to other areas of the body. This is partly because it spreads very quickly and also because in many of the diagnosed cases the symptoms were not present until the late stages of development.
Although pancreatic cancer is treatable in later stages it is always best if it can be diagnosed as soon as possible. Since this rarely happens there are still treatment options that can be explored in the later stages however some may not be as effective as if it had been caught sooner and treatment started in the earlier stages.
There are screening tests that can be done to diagnose pancreatic cancer although they are not generally used unless a person is at an increased risk of developing the disease such as a family history of pancreatic cancer or other genetic disorders that may put an individual at a higher risk of contracting the disease.
In general it is always best to seek the advice of a health care professional any time you experience unusual symptoms. Even if these are not symptoms of pancreatic cancer they should be discussed with your doctor so that they may be treated.
