2013
Next month marks the start of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month , launching on 1st November with Pancreatic Cancer Action Day, the official start of the month long campaign which aims to highlight the symptoms of Pancreatic cancer.
This type of cancer affects over 8000 people in the UK each year and has one of the highest incident-to-mortality rates of any disease. While the exact causes of pancreatic cancer are not known, major risk factors include smoking, which is thought to cause nearly 1 in 3 of all pancreatic cancers, and obesity, to which 12% of pancreatic cancers in the UK can be attributed.
Dr Nick Maisey, one of the consultants at Independent Oncology who specialises in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer, highlights the importance of recognising the symptons early and visiting a GP if you experience unexplained weight loss, abdominal discomfort or a change in bowel habits. Less commonly, patients can develop specific symptons such as painless jaundice (a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes) or pale coloured stools and dark urine. If patients have any unexplained persistent symptons, it is sensible to seek medical advice as early as possible as there is a higher chance of a cure when pancreatic cancer is detected at an early stage.
Dr Nick Maisey will be providing more information on pancreatic cancer over the coming weeks and providing lots of information about what to look out for and how this type of cancer is treated.
In the meantime, more details about Pancreatic Cancer can be found here.