Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

What are the symptoms?

Pancreatic Cancer UK reports that most people can’t name the main symptoms of pancreatic cancer, which include:

These symptoms can be caused by more common conditions but charities and research organisations stress that they should still be checked by a doctor, as alarmingly more than half of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within 3 months. Macmillan Cancer Support also reports that around 10,500 people are diagnosed with this form of cancer every year and it is often not diagnosed until an advanced stage.

Around 80% of pancreatic cancer patients are diagnosed at a point when the disease has spread to other organs and 48% of diagnoses are only made after an emergency admission.

A review of MDU cases by Dr Ellie Mein in 2020 identified several themes contributing to a delay in diagnosis of pancreatic cancer such as clinicians believing symptoms were due to a patient’s pre-existing conditions; a failure to weigh patients who reported reduced appetite or weight loss; delays in referrals for direct access CT scans; confused clinical decision making and a poor continuity of care and communication.

Having an early diagnosis is so important and gives you a much better chance of recovery, our previous blog gives an overview of the warning signs to look out for.

There are different treatment options available depending on what stage the cancer is at but is known as difficult to treat. Treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and supportive care.

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