PANCREATIC CANCER
SYMPTOMS |
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The most common signs and symptoms of the disease
are:
- Abdominal pain is generally a sign that the pancreatic
cancer has spread to the surrounding area and the tumor is
pressing down on the nerves. Typically, the pain is in the back
and relieved by sitting up and bending forward.
- Weight loss that is not due to drastic dieting or exercising
is a common occurrence in pancreatic cancer patients. Weight
loss could be due to loss of appetite and improper digestion.
- Digestive problems, diarrhea, and nausea may often occur in
patients because the pancreas plays an important role in making
certain digestive juices that break down the fatty foods.
- Gallbladder enlargement may sometimes occur, because the
pancreatic tumor expands in size and presses down on the ducts
leading from the gallbladder to the small intestine. Hence, the
bile accumulates in the gallbladder causing it to become
enlarged (a positive Courvoisier sign).
- Jaundice (a yellowish discoloration of the whites of the
eyes and the skin) due to an accumulation of a substance called
"bilirubin" in these tissues. Jaundice is secondary, and related,
to associated obstruction of the common bile duct by the cancer.
Many other conditions, such as hepatitis and the presence of
gallstones also cause jaundice.
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| PANCREATIC CANCER RELATED ITEMS |
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