Olivia Williams discusses ‘bizarre’ symptom of pancreatic cancer
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Pancreatic cancer often goes undetected until it’s advanced and difficult to treat. In the vast majority of cases, symptoms only develop after pancreatic cancer has grown and begun to spread.
Pain is more common in cancers of the body and tail of the pancreas, said Cancer Research.
The health site added: “People describe it as a dull pain that feels as if it is boring into you.
“It can begin in the stomach area and spread around to the back.
“The pain is worse when you lie down and is better if you sit forward.”
Other common symptoms of pancreatic cancer include:
- Jaundice
- Abdominal pain
- Back pain
- Bloating
- Nausea
- Vomiting.
Doctors don’t know what causes most pancreatic cancers but there are some factors that may increase your risk of developing it.
The evidence suggests you can lower your chances of getting it by making healthy lifestyle changes.
According to Cancer Research UK, around 20 out of 100 cases of pancreatic cancer in the UK are caused by smoking.
Some research has shown that exposure to second hand smoke does not increase your risk of pancreatic cancer, however.
Although pancreatic cancer is a relatively rare cancer, it is so deadly it is now on track to become the country’s fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths by 2040.
A cure is almost always a lucky accident, when the cancer is detected at an early, symptom-free stage during an unrelated abdominal scan or surgery and the tumour can be surgically removed.
Smoking doubles the risk and accounts for about a quarter of all cases.
Being obese, gaining excess weight as an adult and carrying extra weight around the waist, even if not otherwise very overweight, also increase one’s risk.
Pancreatic cancer is an elusive disease because in many cases it produces no symptoms.
As a result, the five-year survival rate is around 10 percent.
If it spreads to other parts of the body that survival rate is cut to below three percent.
Source: Read Full Article