This Morning: Dr Zoe explains symptoms of pancreatic cancer
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“I was incredibly lucky,” said Eric Idle. “I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.” The English comedian wasn’t joking, either. Although pancreatic cancer is “one of the most lethal” tumours, the disease was diagnosed in the earliest of stages. Penning an article for Time, Idle revealed he and his wife, tylenol e figado Tania, decided to call his scary diagnosis “Kenny”.
“Kenny is far less threatening. Kenny is manageable. Kenny is something we can talk about publicly,” Idle noted.
While battling an “inbred fear of hospitals”, diagnostic testing revealed that his tumour was “intact… unattached… still fairly new”.
The cancer hadn’t “burst or spread”, which meant medics could reassure him that they had a “good chance of whipping it out”.
“I’m hardly home before we’re booked for my next appointments. Shots Monday. Full-body scan Tuesday. Operation Thursday,” he said.
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Idle’s cancer-removing operation is completed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, LA.
Upon walking, Idle has entered recovery. “The surgery went well, I am assured. Five hours, part of it robotic,” he elaborated.
“[The surgeon] has cut it all out,” Idle confirmed. “It was not attached to anything and my lymph nodes were clear. The cancer is gone.”
Idle added: “They could find no further trace in my body. I had been a dead man walking. I am going to live. Only then do I cry.”
Showing his appreciation for the medical staff at Cedars-Sinai, Idle started the Bright Side Fund at Stand Up To Cancer to fund pancreatic cancer research.
“I want to encourage people in families at high risk of pancreatic cancer to explore the newer tests available for detecting the disease early,” Idle explained.
Pancreatic cancer may not have any symptoms, the NHS points out, which is concerning.
However, possible indications could include developing jaundice, which is when the whites of the eyes turn yellow, and you have “darker pee and paler poo than usual”.
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The tumour can also lead to a loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, and fatigue.
Some people might experience a high temperature, or feel hot or shivery if they have cancer.
Digestive issues might occur, such as nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, and other changes in your faeces.
There might be “pain at the top part of your tummy and your back, which may feel worse when you are eating or lying down and better when you lean forward”.
While some of these symptoms could resemble irritable bowel syndrome, they are best checked out by a doctor.
If you feel in yourself that something is wrong, even if one doctor thinks you’re okay, you can seek a second opinion.
Pancreatic cancer can be difficult to treat, but the earlier it is diagnosed, the better the prognosis may be.
Eric Idle appears on BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show on Friday, September 30 at 10:40pm.
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