I will tell you about the four pain areas of the early symptoms of pancreatic cancer that your body sends. Pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer that is difficult to treat. This is because it is often detected late. Although pancreatic cancer is known to be difficult to treat, if you know the signals your body sends for pancreatic cancer, you can respond quickly. I will tell you right away about the four signals of pancreatic cancer.

Early Signs of Pancreatic Cancer

Breast cancer, stomach cancer, and colon cancer are more likely to be detected early through palpation of lumps or endoscopy, but the pancreas is so deep inside our body that it is not easy to notice.

Therefore, it is even more important not to miss the signals in your body that may indicate pancreatic cancer. If you experience the four symptoms I am about to tell you, you should consider whether you have pancreatic cancer.

1. Blood sugar

One of the important early signs that can indicate pancreatic cancer is elevated blood sugar. If you are not diabetic and there is no history of diabetes in your family, but you suddenly develop diabetes, you should consider whether you have developed diabetes due to pancreatic cancer, not simply diabetes.

Also, if you have been a diabetic, even if your diet hasn't changed at all, if your blood sugar, which was well-controlled, suddenly becomes difficult to control, it is good to check your pancreas. To do this, you can consult your doctor and have an abdominal CT scan.

As many of you know, one of the main functions of the pancreas is insulin secretion, so if a tumor develops in the pancreas, this type of diabetes, which does not control blood sugar, can occur.

2. Indigestion

The second important signal is indigestion. The pancreas has two important functions in our body: one is blood sugar control, and the other is digestion. The pancreas plays a very important role in digesting food by secreting digestive enzymes, so if a tumor develops in the pancreas and these digestive enzymes are not produced, digestive function naturally decreases.

Lipase, a fat-digesting enzyme, is not produced properly, so if you eat greasy food, it may be difficult to digest and you may have diarrhea. Also, if you lack protease, a protein-digesting enzyme, you may especially belch and not digest well after eating meat.

Of course, you will lose your appetite, but indigestion symptoms are actually common in everyday life, so you can just take an antacid and such. However, if indigestion is caused by pancreatic cancer, your body is not continuously supplied with the fat and protein it needs, so you may lose muscle and lose weight easily.

Therefore, if you continue to have indigestion, loss of appetite, and weight loss, it could be a signal from your pancreas.

3. Jaundice

Another signal that appears when you have pancreatic cancer is jaundice. The pancreas consists of head, body, and tail parts, and the symptoms that appear may vary depending on the location where the tumor develops. The head of the pancreas is located behind the stomach and at the passageway where bile flows.

So, this bile is produced in the liver, then passes through the bile duct and goes to the duodenum, but if there is a tumor in the head of the pancreas, it can block the passage of bile.

As a result, bilirubin, the pigment component of bile, cannot be excreted and accumulates in the body, causing the whites of the eyes and skin to turn yellow.

Jaundice is a visible symptom, so you can notice it yourself, or sometimes others will notice it and tell you. If this kind of visually noticeable symptom appears, it can be a clue to early detection of pancreatic cancer.

4. Pain

Fourthly, there is pain. Pain is a symptom that appears more after pancreatic cancer has progressed than in the early stages, but the pancreas is located behind the stomach, so pain especially appears in the epigastrium below the sternum and above the navel. When this kind of abdominal pain appears, it can be thought of as simple gastritis or enteritis, and you can think that it will go away on its own.

However, pain caused by pancreatic cancer is not something that will go away on its own, but rather the symptoms become more frequent, or the intensity of the pain becomes stronger. The head of the pancreas is located deep in the epigastrium, and the body and tail extend to the left, so in addition to epigastric pain, there can be left upper abdominal pain, and the tail extending to the back, pain in the area below the shoulder blade on both sides of the spine, and pain can appear both front and back.

If you have reached the point where this kind of pain appears, the prognosis may be worse, so if you have persistent unpleasant abdominal pain, it is best to visit a hospital and get an accurate examination without delay.

In conclusion

Since the outcome of treatment depends greatly on early detection and proper treatment, knowing the symptoms that appear when pancreatic cancer develops can help you detect pancreatic cancer early.