The pancreas is one of those ignored organs of our body. It’s present behind the stomach and helps digestion by secreting various enzymes to process food. Increasing death rates due to pancreatic cancer brings the organ into the limelight. We need to take care of every organ and learn to decode our body’s signs.
Signs of pancreatic cancer –
Anorexia-
When tumours develop in the pancreas, they affect the nearby organs. This term means loss of appetite, and these tumours destroy the urge for food. The stomach and small intestine both become victims as these tumours delay gastric emptying, and food remains there for extended intervals. Therefore, pancreatic cancer leads to the suppression of hunger.
Yellowish skin and eye-
Changes in the colour of eyes may be due to several reasons like alcohol, liver problem and pancreatic cancer. When pancreatic cancer develops, it affects the bile duct, which is essential for removing bilirubin and transferring bile salts. But in pancreatic cancer, bilirubin accumulates, causing jaundice and leading to the yellowish colour of skin and eyes.
Puffed up belly-
Due to the development of pancreatic cancer, a person experiences changes in belly appearance. They look like a pregnant lady with a baby in her womb, and the belly gets swollen up. Tumours enlarge and change the person’s physical appearance, indicating the presence of some serious issue.
Pain in the lower back-
As this pancreatic cancer grows up, it exerts sudden pressure on the other internal systems, such as muscles of the back, lower spine, etc. Therefore, this pressure leads to pain development.
Weight loss-
The presence of these tumours affects gastric emptying, and at this moment, food accumulates inside, leading to loss of appetite. This condition leads to less food intake, and finally, dropping in bodyweight occurs in the sufferer.
The colour of a stool-
When pancreatic cancer occurs, the pancreas cannot stimulate the release of various digestive enzymes that help in food processing. Therefore, a large amount of fat excretes in stool leads to a light-coloured stool.
Stomach and abdominal pain-
The celiac plexus is a bundle of nerves and blood vessels responsible for pain near the pancreas. So, any disturbance in the pancreas can cause the development of pain and irritation.
The colour of urine-
When pancreatic cancer occurs, it increases bilirubin content, which in turn causes your urine to appear dark in colour.
Itching sensations-
The presence of a large amount of bilirubin in the blood, which accumulates due to a disturbance in the function of the bile duct, leads to itchy sensations on the skin. This moment leads to a severe urge to scratch out the irritating skin.
Jaundice-
The pancreas sits close to the liver and creates a disturbance in the normal functioning of a bile duct. Elevation in bile levels leads to another problem, jaundice. Therefore, pancreatic cancer can lead to jaundice.
Diabetes-
As we all know, diabetes is a situation that occurs due to high blood glucose levels. The regulation of blood glucose levels depends upon the hormones that the pancreas secretes, like insulin and glucagon. Therefore disturbance in the normal functioning of the pancreas may happen to be in link with the development of diabetes.
Clotting of blood-
This cancer development can hinder various vital functions of our body, and it may decrease a protein used to prevent blood from clotting and lead to blood clots formation.
Finally, after reading the above signs, we all need to stay attentive to our body’s signs and symptoms. Neglecting these vital signs may lead to disastrous results. The pancreas is the main organ that plays a significant role, and a minor disturbance in its function can affect your body entirely.
