Pancreatic cancer is the growth of cancerous tumors or cells in your Pancreatic tissues. There are no visible early signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer. But when signs or symptoms of pancreatic cancer began to appear cancer has progressed inside and outside of the pancreas affecting other organs.
The following is the list of common symptoms pancreatic cancer but having any of these signs does not mean that you have pancreatic cancer. These signs may be due to another condition but if you notice one of these symptoms consult with your medical care professional. This will help you to detect pancreatic cancer as earlier as possible before any serious complications.
Jaundice
One of the major and first symptoms of pancreatic cancer is jaundice. Jaundice is a medical condition that occurs due to the accumulation of bilirubin in your body that will result in yellowing of your eyes and skin. The sign of jaundice is pale skin and yellow eyes.
Bilirubin is a waste product produced by the liver by the degradation of old red blood cells. The liver releases bilirubin into bile into the bile duct. It is then released into the small intestine via a common bile duct. Bile helps in breakdown of fatty acids in the small intestine. But if the bile duct is closed or blocked due to cancerous tumor or other medical condition. Bilirubin may start accumulating in your body
The following are symptoms of jaundice
Brown urine when bilirubin levels are high in blood it may start excreting in urine so urine becomes dark-colored.
Itching when bilirubin accumulates in your body may cause itchiness and pale skin.
Fatty light-colored stool bilirubin in stool makes it a dark color but due to blockage of the bile duct. Bile can not be released in the small intestine so there is no absorption of fatty acids in the body. So fatty acids are excreted out of the body along with waste materials.
Abdomen or back pain
The most common symptom of pancreatic cancer is belly or back pain. When pancreatic cancer starts in the body or tail of the pancreas it may grow and start irritating nearby organs and compress them so you feel pain. It may be caused by some other reason so you must consult your doctor if you feel back pain so often.
Sudden loss of appetite and weight
People suffering from pancreatic cancer may be underweight because due to pancreatic cancer their weight starts decreasing fast. They also face loss of appetite.
Vomiting
When pancreatic cancer starts spreading it may start affecting nearby organs. Due to pancreatic cancer the size of the pancreas may increase and it starts pushing and pressing your stomach as it is located behind the stomach. So you feel vomiting and nausea. This feeling may be more severe after having your meal.
Diabetes
Pancreatic cancer can destroy beta cells of the pancreas that produce insulin so if you are suffering from diabetes you should make an appointment with your doctor to diagnose pancreatic cancer as early as possible.
