14 symptoms of pancreatic cancer you’re most likely to ignore - The Independent

As a result, pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer – more than half of people with the disease die within three months of diagnosis, says Pancreatic Cancer UK (PCUK, pancreaticcancer.org.uk).

PCUK specialist nurse, Jeni Jones, says: “The vast majority of cases are diagnosed when the cancer is already at a late stage, because the symptoms often overlap with other conditions like indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome.

Indigestion and/or heartburn can be a common symptom of pancreatic cancer – but one that most people wouldn’t necessarily think was linked to a serious disease.

She says combined tummy and back pain is quite a common symptom, but some people may just have one or the other.

Weight loss connected to pancreatic cancer might initially be seen when people aren’t really trying to lose weight and are eating relatively normally.

Losing weight is of course sometimes be related to appetite loss, which is another easily-ignored pancreatic cancer symptom, at least initially.

“It can range from people thinking they’re not really that hungry, to having no appetite at all and not being able to face food or feeling full after very little food,” says Jones, who explains that such appetite changes may be because the tumour is pressing on the stomach, or just diminishing the capacity to eat.

Jaundice is a less easy-to-ignore pancreatic cancer symptom, but it only tends to occur in people whose tumour is towards the head of the pancreas, explains Jones.

“Not everyone with pancreatic cancer will get jaundice, although it is very prevalent,” she says.

Jones warns that a very small amount of people with recently diagnosed diabetes may have pancreatic cancer, because the cancer can stop the pancreas producing enough insulin, which can lead to diabetes.  She explains: “If you have some of the pancreatic cancer symptoms and you’re suddenly diagnosed with diabetes, then that ought to be a red flag symptom for your GP to think about whether you need a scan to check your pancreas.”.

Feeling or being sick can be another pancreatic cancer symptom, although she stresses: “Sometimes people can vomit, but that’s not as common as feeling sick.”?

Jones says blood clots are an uncommon pancreatic cancer symptom, and one that would perhaps be seen in people who,  for example, are younger and non-smokers and so wouldn’t typically be at risk of clots

Tiredness can, of course, be caused by any number of things, but if you have other symptoms too,  it could be linked to pancreatic cancer, warns Jones

“If you rest and can’t recharge your batteries, coupled with some of the other symptoms, like ongoing pain or steatorrhea, which drain a person physically, it could be another pancreatic cancer symptom.”

Such symptoms are uncommon pancreatic cancer symptoms, but aren’t unheard of and may be either linked to the cancer itself, or possibly an infection linked to jaundice, which Jones says will need immediate medical attention

“The cancer can make a person feel full up, so although they think the problem is to do with their swallowing, it’s often the fact that they’re just not able to fit the food in,” says Jones, who explains that pancreatic cancer doesn’t actually cause problems with the oseophagus, it may just make swallowing feel abnormal

Depression and anxiety without any obvious cause is a common symptom of pancreatic cancer, says Jones