What is pancreatic cancer?

The pancreas is a gland about six inches long, shaped like a thin pear lying on its side, deep in the abdomen behind the stomach. It makes enzymes that help digest food and hormones, including insulin, that control blood sugar.

Pancreatic cancer begins when malignant cells form in the tissues of the pancreas. Most cases are adenocarcinoma, starting in the ducts that carry digestive enzymes. Because the organ sits deep in the body, tumors can grow for a long time without obvious symptoms.

Why it is hard to find

There is no simple screening test for people at average risk. Early signs — fatigue, indigestion, back pain, changes in stool, new diabetes — look like many other conditions. By the time jaundice or significant weight loss appears, the cancer may already have spread.

Types

Exocrine tumors (including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma) account for the large majority of cases. Neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas are less common and often behave differently. Treatment plans depend on type, stage, location in the head, body, or tail of the pancreas, and whether the tumor can be removed.

What NPCF wants you to know

Statistics are grim, but they are not a personal sentence. Second opinions, high-volume cancer centers, clinical trials, nutrition support, and integrative care can change the path a family walks. If you are at high risk — family history, certain gene changes, chronic pancreatitis — talk with your doctor about surveillance even before symptoms start.