Pancreatic cancer: The signs and symptoms to look out for
An estimated 600 people in Ireland are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year. The five-year survival has increased slowly over the past decades, but remains very low at 14%, according to Breakthrough Cancer Research.
NO cancer diagnosis is good news, but some cancers are sadly more deadly and more brutal than others — pancreatic cancer being one of them.
An estimated 600 people in Ireland are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year.
The five-year survival has increased slowly over the past decades, but remains very low at 14%, according to Breakthrough Cancer Research.
But a potential vaccine is now offering new hope to pancreatic cancer patients, as well as bowel cancer patients. Findings published in the journal , have revealed that in an early trial featuring pancreatic and bowel cancer patients, the groundbreaking new jab appears capable of slowing progression of the disease and boosting survival chances.
The vaccine works by harnessing the body’s own immune system to target specific cells, called KRAS-mutant cancer cells, and the pancreatic cancer patients in the study, on average, survived around two years and five months after receiving the vaccine.
Study lead Dr Zev Wainberg, from the University of California, Los Angeles, in the US, told the PA news agency: “Pancreas cancer [patients] even after all standard treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, still have very high risks of the cancer coming back.
“Our results show that, in the group of patients who had profound immune responses, we achieved longer survival than we had expected in this cancer, quite a remarkable finding to occur in a phase 1 trial.”
One of the major issues with pancreatic cancer is that symptoms can be “vague” and “masquerade as other less threatening illnesses” like irritable bowel syndrome and gallstones, “so a lot of people will not tend to worry about them or present to the GP with them until it’s too late,” explains Heather Archbold, health information and research manager at Pancreatic Cancer Action.
“Time is of the essence with pancreatic cancer,” she continues. “We encourage everyone to trust their instincts and see a healthcare professional if they notice unusual symptoms, no matter how small they may seem. Early diagnosis saves lives.”
These are the early symptoms to be aware of. “It is worth noting these symptoms may appear as a combination and not independently,” says Archbold.
Don’t automatically assume you’ve slipped a disc or pulled a muscle. Abdominal (the tummy area) or back pain could be a warning sign, “particularly if it’s a mild discomfort and worsens over time, or it can be eased by leaning forward,” says Archbold. The back pain usually occurs “where a woman’s bra strap would sit.”
“It’s the stomach and back pain that tends to drive patients to A&E,” she adds. Back pain tends to occur when “the tumour will have spread beyond the pancreas and will be pressing against the spine”.
As with many cancers, “weight loss without trying” is a red flag for pancreatic cancer. So if your jeans are suddenly much looser without your diet changing, speak to your GP.
“Jaundice is the yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes,” explains Archbold. “It doesn’t present the same in people with darker skin. That’s why we always ask people to look at the whites of their eyes.”
She adds that “jaundice can cause intense itching” on the body.
Things to look out for are “stools that won’t flush” as well as “darker urine”, but any noticeable changes that are out of the ordinary for you are worth seeing a GP about, including pale, greasy-looking stools.
Early signs of diabetes include peeing more frequently, especially at night, being very thirsty, feeling more tired than usual, losing weight without trying, genital itching or thrush, cuts and wounds taking longer to heal, blurred eyesight and increased hunger – some of which overlap with the other early signs of pancreatic cancer.
This isn’t being exhausted for a couple of days after a busy week or a bad night’s sleep, but “persistent fatigue, no matter how much sleep you are getting,” says Archbold.
You might just need some over-the-counter medicine, but if indigestion doesn’t seem to respond to the usual meds, see your GP.
- For more information on pancreatic cancer symptoms and early diagnosis, check out cancer.ie
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