Symptoms Of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer has the tendency of reducing appetite. So, it eventually leads to weight loss. Some types of pancreatic cancer produce hormones that make the body harder to obtain nutrients from foods. Though you take a staple diet, you may start losing weight or become malnourished. Weight loss without any particular reason is one of the key symptoms of pancreatic cancer.

Patients who suffer from pancreatic cancer will be often having a poor appetite. The symptom may due to the side effects of chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy. Mouth sores, chewing difficulties and dyspepsia may compound the loss of the appetite. Sometimes prescription drugs, surgery or cancer itself may change the food taste or reduce the patient's’ appetite.

When the tumor starts affecting enzymes and hormones involved in digestion, the patient may feel sick and discomfort in his stomach. The amount of acid secretion is increased in certain pancreatic cancers. The condition partially or completely blocks the stomach and intestine, preventing food from getting through. This causes nausea, vomiting and pain that turn worse after the food intake.

In pancreatic cancer case, the common bile duct is blocked and the bile is trapped in the gallbladder. Due to the blockage, the gallbladder seems to be larger than its normal size. During the physical examination, your doctor may able to find the enlarged gallbladder and he can sense upper abdominal tenderness. The liver enlargement can also be experienced in pancreatic cancer once cancer starts spreading. The liver enlargement can be captured during the physical examination or in imaging tests such as CT, MRI etc.,

A common problem experienced by pancreatic cancer patients is eating and digesting food. This is because the pancreas plays a key role in breaking the food for digestion. Feeling filled quickly while eating, burping and bloating are the symptoms caused by problems in food digestion.

Yellowing of skin and eyes are the symptoms of jaundice. Most people with pancreatic cancer have Jaundice as one of their prime symptoms. The disease is caused by the increased bilirubin level, a dark yellow-brown substance made in the liver. The Liver releases Bile that contains bilirubin. Bile reaches the intestines through the common bile duct and it helps in breaking down fats. Finally, bile leaves the body in the stool. When there is a common bile duct block, bile cannot reach intestines and it starts to accumulate.

The first clue for pancreatic cancer is a blood clot in a large vein mostly in the leg. This condition is called a deep vein thrombosis. Swelling, warmness in the affected site, pain and redness are the symptoms seen. Sometimes, the blood clot may break off and travel to the lungs which might cause chest pain and breathing problem. Pulmonary embolism is a medical term used to refer to a blood clot in the lungs. All the blood clots cannot be considered and caused by pancreatic cancer. There may be other reasons for blood clots.

Occasionally, pancreatic cancers induce diabetes, i.e. high blood sugar as they destroy the insulin-making cells. Hunger, thirst, and frequent urination are the common symptoms found here. Frequently, cancer can lead to small changes in the blood sugar levels that would not cause any visible symptoms of diabetes but the same can be detected in the blood tests.

Many victims of pancreatic cancer are reported to notice changes in their bowel habits. It may be either constipation due to the pain medications effect or loose stools or even diarrhea. Some patients get a symptom called steatorrhoea which is caused by fat in the feces. The fecal matter can be pale, foul-smelling, oily and floating nature.