Posted on 11/01/2022 11:32:00 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
Pancreatic cancer is a silent disease. For many people, it has no symptoms until it is fairly advanced. Weight loss and increased blood glucose levels are known signs, but it has been unknown—until now—when these changes occur and to what extent. If we can better understand how and when these changes happen before pancreatic cancer diagnosis, we can use this knowledge to diagnose the disease earlier.
Researchers investigated known signs of pancreatic cancer—weight loss, high blood sugar and diabetes—and looked at when they develop in relation to cancer.
We found that dramatic weight loss in people with pancreatic cancer started as early as two years before they received a diagnosis.
At the time of diagnosis, the average BMI of people with pancreatic cancer was nearly three units lower than people who did not have cancer. Raised glucose levels were detected even earlier—from three years before the diagnosis.
The results suggest that unexplained weight loss, mainly in people with diabetes (but not exclusively) should be treated with suspicion. Also, increasing glucose levels, especially in people without weight gain, should be considered a potential red flag for pancreatic cancer.
These changes are important candidates for health checks that could help doctors identify people who may have undiagnosed pancreatic cancer. These people could be then referred to a hospital specialist to check for cancer.
The benefit of receiving an early diagnosis is that it reduces the chance of the cancer spreading and helps ensure patients are fit enough to withstand treatment.
We are also looking to build this information into a more complex tool (an algorithm) that doctors could use. Using weight and glucose changes together, and potentially incorporating other key symptoms of pancreatic cancer (dark urine, light stool, yellow skin), is more powerful than looking at each of these measures separately.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Steve Jobs found this out early, but decided to forego any treatment, thinking he could get by with alternative medicines.
Bkmk
This sucks... I was diagnosed with diabetes a year or so ago and I’ve experienced significant weight loss... Over 39 lbs... So I guess this means I should begin to worry?
How do they test for Pancreatic cancer?
Be aware for anyone with hemoglobin issues- they can affect A1C tests. Another test that is not dependent on faulty hemoglobin is Glycomark test.
Also the meter strip tests can be affected by it. Manufacturer dependent. Some more reliable than others.
This should help:
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreatic-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/how-diagnosed.html
You need to get in. Pancreatic cancer caught early has a real good chance of getting reversed.
The symptoms sound similar to the symptoms for type 1 diabetes.
There are two primary types of PC. There is one that forms in the head of the pancreas. That type is the fast moving, “kill you in months” type that spreads throughout the Liver and abdomen.
The second type is in the tail. That is what Jobs and Ginsburg had. That type is very treatable if caught early. That is the type that could grind you down slowly.
Both types would be survivable if you find it early. Early detection would require some liver panels and “factor” tests for those in a genetic situation. The issue is most people—and most doctors don’t do the maintenance tests that would establish a baseline.
My wife’s diagnosis took about four months from her first visit to out PCP. He noticed a higher than normal liver enzyme. Because he was paying attention, she went through the diagnosis to surgery to chemo o recovery process at a pace that stunned us. I swear, her feet never touched the ground.
She was fortunate to have good care with people who knew what they were doing. Most folks ignore their symptoms because they are similar to “feeling old”. And that kills them.
If anyone has any questions about PC, feel free to private message me. I have been knees deep in this for three years. I might be able to give you some insights.
What causes PC? What if any, steps to prevent PC?
I am afraid it is genetic predisposition to PC.
Do you notice any of the following:
Dark urine, light stool, or yellow skin?
These were listed additional physical symptoms as it progressed.
>>How do they test for Pancreatic cancer?<<
Biopsy(done in Europe).
I am happy for you. PC took my wife 42 weeks ago. Enjoy every day.
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Sometimes it is just bad luck.
Sometimes it’s genetic.
I am sure there are environmental issues ( drinking, diabetes, etc) that could have a correlation.
My wife just had bad luck.
We only got an official diagnosis after the Whipple surgery.
But my wife had CT scans, ultrasounds, endoscopic ultrasounds, and then more CT scans.
It’s a bitch to get to the pancreas because of the physical location. If you cannot get close, you can’t always see a small mass/tumor.
I am so sorry to hear that. I often don’t want to be too grateful because the threat never goes away. You are in my thoughts.
So genuinely sorry tolearn about your wife. Best of best luck to her.
My wife never smoked, but got lung cancer. May be growing up in a family where dad+mom+4 siblings smoked may have someting to do with it. Or living many years in basement apartment in Chicago where radon levels are known to be high. No one knows. It is almost 5 years since diagnosis, and she is a fighter.
I am sorry for your loss. The most dreadful words I have ever heard was when the doctor treating my husband in the ER for an unrelated matter called and said “We did a CT scan and found lesions on the pancreas,liver, and adrenal glands.” The biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. He passed 12 days later from a stroke. I had to be grateful for that stroke because I knew what pancreatic cancer meant.
May your wife’s memory always be a blessing.
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