What Is Pancreatic Cancer – And Why Is It So Deadly?
First, some background on your pancreas: the organ is about 6 inches long and located behind your stomach, where it produces digestive juices to help your body break down food, and insulin to help regulate your blood sugar levels.
When cells in your pancreas start to multiply and grow out of control at a rapid pace, cancerous tumors can develop. There are two types of cells-exocrine and endocrine-that can form these tumors. Exocrine pancreatic cancer is by far the most common, says the ACS. Neuroendocrine tumors (the type that Aretha Franklin was diagnosed with) actually makes up less than 5 percent of all pancreatic cancers.
The problem:
It’s extremely hard to detect these tumours, regardless of the type. There are currently no early-detection tests available, so doctors have no way of performing screening like they do for, say, breast or colon cancers. And when it comes to neuroendocrine tumours, benign (noncancerous) cells are difficult to differentiate from malignant (cancerous) ones, making the process even trickier, the ACS states.
Your anatomy kind of gets in the way, too. Your gastrointestinal tract consists of several different organs, all of which form complex layers within your body. Some layers are thick, while others are much thinner, according to William Grady, MD, a clinical researcher who specializes in gastrointestinal cancers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
For example, colon cancer is easier to catch at an early stage because it’s surrounded by a thicker layer of tissue and organs-meaning the cancer can’t spread to other areas of your body as quickly, giving your doctor time to detect it (there are screening tests!) and offer treatment before it goes on to an advanced, more dangerous stage.
But the area surrounding your pancreas is really quite thin, so the cancer has an easier time moving beyond your pancreas to other parts of your body, where it picks up momentum and becomes more aggressive. What’s more, your pancreas resides deeper within your body, so even if a tumour was present, your doctor would have a hard time feeling it during a normal checkup, according to the ACS.
That’s the thing: pancreatic cancer is nearly invisible-that is, until it’s already progressed to a more advanced, harder-to-treat stage.
What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer?
The most common warning signs of pancreatic cancer include abdominal or back pain, unexplained blood clots, lack of appetite or unusual weight loss, nausea, and diarrhea or floating stools.
Seems pretty random, right?
That’s a huge issue: the symptoms of pancreatic cancer are so nonspecific that they can be written off as a different health problem, which delays earlier diagnosis, says Dr. Grady. The most unique symptoms to keep your eyes peeled for is jaundice (yellowing of your skin and eyes), but by the time this happens, the cancer has likely already spread to your liver.
