Pancreatic cancer is a cancer type that starts in your pancreas. It happens when pancreatic cells begin to divide and grow out of control. It can form a growth called a tumour. The cancer cells can grow into surrounding blood vessels or organs such as your small bowel and it may spread to other areas of your body.
Your pancreas is an organ that sits behind the top part of your stomach. The larger part of your pancreas produces digestive juices to help digest your food and is called the exocrine pancreas. The smaller part produces hormones, including insulin, and is called the endocrine pancreas. Cancers that develop from these two parts can behave differently and cause different symptoms.
The most common type of pancreatic cancer is pancreatic adenocarcinoma which starts when exocrine pancreas cells start to grow out of control.
The cause of pancreatic cancer is not fully understood. There are some risk factors that increase your chances of getting the disease. Having some risk factors does not mean you will definitely get pancreatic cancer and you can get pancreatic cancer even if you don’t have any of the risk factors.
Pancreatic cancer risk factors include:
In most cases, pancreatic cancer doesn’t run in families. Only a small percentage of pancreatic cancer cases are hereditary. It includes:
Although family history is a risk factor, most people who get pancreatic cancer do not have a family history of it.
In the early stage of pancreatic cancer, there may not be any symptoms or they might be hard to spot. As cancer grows, symptoms may develop that include:
Some symptoms can affect your digestion, such as:
It is important to see your GP if you have these symptoms and they get worse or they do not feel normal for you.
If you are experiencing pancreatic cancer symptoms, you may need several tests to help diagnose the cause and if you have cancer of the pancreas.
These tests can include:
Find out more about screening tests and diagnostic tests at Ramsay Health Care.
Your doctors will use your test results to help decide the best treatment for you. It will depend on where your cancer is, whether it has spread (the stage), the type of cancer, how abnormal the cells look under a microscope (the grade) and your general health.
Treatments for pancreatic cancer include:
Pancreatic cancer is cancer that starts in your pancreas.
Here at Ramsay Health Care UK, we have a team of expert cancer specialists on hand to advise, diagnose, and treat pancreatic cancer.
We understand the anxiety that pancreatic cancer symptoms can bring and the importance of early testing to bring peace of mind and to help diagnose symptoms early for a better treatment outcome.
We offer convenient appointments to talk through the benefits and risks of all tests and treatments so that you are fully informed and understanding of all implications.
Paul Foster MP, the newly elected Member of Parliament for South Ribble, and former Leader of South Ribble Council, visited Ramsay Health Care UK’s Buckshaw Hospital today to see people caring for people in action.
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