Pancreatic Cancer - Medtick
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Pancreatic Cancer

What is it?

When tumours grow in pancreas.

Function of the pancreas

  • The pancreas is needed to produce insulin and hormones for indigestion (messengers in the body).
  • The pancreas helps regulate your blood sugar levels and appetite, stimulate stomach acids, and tell your stomach when to empty.

Diagnosis Tests

  • Endoscopic ultrasound
  • Genetic testing for both KRAS and BRCA mutations in patients with family history or who are at high risk of pancreatic cancer

Screening

Screening should be at age 50 years in patients who are at high risk for pancreatic cancer, or when they are 10 years younger than their youngest affected relative

Cause

Syndromes

Symptoms

  • Sudden pain or a constant ache in centre of abdomen?
  • Ache travel from abdomen to back?
  • Leaning forward or curling into a ball relieves pain?
  • Abdominal pain and/or are constant violently vomiting or vomiting longer than two days?
  • Diarrhoea?
  • Loss of appetite?
  • High temperature greater than 38°C (100°F) or over and/or chills and sweats longer than 72 hours?
  • Balance and dizziness problems?
  • Unexplained Weight loss?
  • Oily skin?
  • Oily stools?
  • Yellowing of skin and white of eyes (jaundice)?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Medical Emergency Condition

And/or do not wait, phone for an ambulance if have or develop:

  • Severe Pain is longer than eight hours?
  • If have any of the following symptoms particularly after 0-1 weeks of acute pancreatitis:
    • Rise in body temperature to above 38C (100.4F) or a fall in body temperature to below 36C (96.8F)?
    • Rapid heartbeat of more than 90 beats a minute?
    • Unusually fast breathing rate (more than 20 breaths a minute)?
  • Septicaemia
  • Blood clots/Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
  • Liver disease

and/or 

If have any of the following symptoms particularly after 4- 6 weeks of acute pancreatitis:

This condition can lead to:

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Pancreatic Cancer in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

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