The pancreas is a gland that is located behind the stomach and in front of the spine. It produces juices that help break down food and hormones that control blood sugar levels.
According to the National Library of Medicine, Medline Plus, altering the health of this gland can lead to many problems including, pancreatitis or inflammation of the pancreas, cystic fibrosis and pancreatic cancer. This last disease is distinguished by two types of cancer according to the type of infected cells.
- Exocrine pancreatic cancer: It is the most common subtype of pancreatic cancer and in most cases develops from the cells that produce digestive enzymes.
- Pancreatic or neuroendocrine endocrine tumor: aIt affects the cells of the islets of Langerhans that produce hormones and release them directly into the blood. You can differentiate between different subtypes depending on the type of cell they affect.
Until now, the causes that cause pancreatic cancer are unknown, but most of its types are considered sporadic, so that cases of hereditary pancreatic cancer are less frequent. It is worth mentioning that most people who develop this cancer are over 45 years of age. In fact, 90% are over 55 and 70% are over 65.
Primary symptoms of pancreatic cancer
According to the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) In the initial phase of this disease, people usually do not present any type of symptoms. However, in some cases it can be identified by the presence of symptoms such as: inexplicable weight, jaundice, diabetes, pain in the area of the pancreas, tiredness and constant fatigue, nausea and vomiting, among others.
On the other hand, the magazine better with health details that it is important to take into account that the symptoms may vary depending on the type of cancer. For example, him Exocrine pancreatic cancer develops symptoms such as:
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Tiredness and constant fatigue.
- Inappetence or loss of appetite.
- Enlargement of the gallbladder or liver.
- Abdominal discomfort that can spread to nearby areas such as the back.
- Jaundice, or yellow-tinged skin, as the cancer obstructs the common bile duct and bilirubin builds up.
- Other related symptoms are darker urine and stool changes.
Hormonal symptoms of pancreatic cancer
Meanwhile, pancreatic cancer, as it progresses, causes hormonal symptoms that are often difficult to treat. better with health explains three of them:
- Changes in the texture of the patient’s fatty tissue: this disorder is due to the wrong release of pancreatic enzymes.
- Diabetes: exocrine cells destroy cells that synthesize insulin. Therefore, glucose levels in the bloodstream increase and the characteristic symptoms of this disease also occur.
- Mild changes in blood glucose levels.
Specifically, there is no specific formula to prevent pancreatic cancer, but there are some risk factors that can be tried to be controlled. American Cancer Society explains some of them:
- No Smoking: this habit should be eliminated to reduce the risk not only of suffering from this type of cancer, but others that can impact organs such as the liver and stomach.
- Avoid alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption has typically been linked to pancreatic cancer, according to some studies. Therefore, it is important to reduce your consumption as much as possible.
