15 Facts And Symptoms Of Pancreatic Cancer You Should Never, Ever Ignore

By Andrew Alpin, 10 April 2018

11Your stomach hurts without reason

No this is not just toddler complains to avoid going to school. It happens to adults too and if it happens regularly, then it’s a matter of real concern. Unspecified tummy aches for an extended period of time for no apparent reason can be the first symptoms of pancreatic cancer. The location of pancreas is such that a tumor there can cause a low-key pain no matter what you ate and it’s something to be worried about. 

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12 You can't stop itching

Over itchy skin with no apparent allergy or rash is sure shot sign of jaundice or worse pancreatic cancer. As the bilirubin builds up in the body it causes severe itching before turning the skin yellow. If you cannot identify other causes such as bug bites, insect bites, or allergies that cause your itchy skin which does not respond to creams or lotions, it’s time to go to a doctor.

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13You just feel off

To catch this cancer early, we have to pay attention to mundane symptoms and rather general feeling of being under-the-weather, which if lasts more than a week or two and is not related any immediate cause such as flu or fever. Because the scariest thing about pancreatic cancer is the fact that by the time all the obvious symptoms are understood, the prognosis is always poor as stated by doctors like Anton Bilchik, M.D., Ph.D, professor of surgery and chief of gastrointestinal research at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. So pay attention to the silliest or the smallest of the bodily changes and monitor them closely to be safe always. 

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14You get the chills and fever

According to John Hopkins pathology, Chills are an early warning symptom of pancreatic cancer. The biggest problem here is that such things are dismissed as the result of flu or common cold, but the trick is to identify other symptoms that you are facing to and make a correlation to pinpoint something more serious. Chills in pancreatic cancer are because of obstruction of the bile ducts or vaccine therapy. 

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15 Risk factors of pancreatic cancer

The risks of contracting pancreatic cancer largely depend on your diet and lifestyle habits.

• Diabetes

• Chronic pancreas inflammation (pancreatic)

• Genetics (family history including BRCA2 mutation)

• Obesity

• Smoking

• Old age beyond 65 Studies have found that smoking along with a diabetic condition and poor diet largely increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. 

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