Symptoms and risk factors.
Pancreatic cancer rarely announces itself early. Knowing what to watch for — and what raises your risk — is the closest thing we have to catching it sooner.
Symptoms
Pancreatic cancer often does not cause symptoms until the disease is advanced. When they do appear, they may include:
Any one of these has many ordinary explanations. Several together, or one that persists, is a reason to ask your doctor specifically about the pancreas.
Risk factors
Prevention and screening
Screening looks for signs of cancer in people without symptoms. It may be an option if your risk is very high — a strong family history, or an inherited DNA change. It usually means imaging such as MRI and ultrasound, repeated every year.
The goal is to find cancer while it is small and most likely curable. Research is ongoing, and screening carries its own risks — including finding something that requires surgery but turns out not to be cancer. Discuss the benefits and risks with your care team.
If you have a family history of pancreatic cancer, raise it with a health professional. They can review that history and help you understand whether genetic testing is right for you — and refer you to a counselor trained in genetics.
Worried about your own risk?
Talk to a Sky Advocate who has been through this, or start with the counselor directory. Either way, you will not be figuring it out alone.
Symptoms and risk factors.
Pancreatic cancer rarely announces itself early. Knowing what to watch for — and what raises your risk — is the closest thing we have to catching it sooner.
Symptoms
Pancreatic cancer often does not cause symptoms until the disease is advanced. When they do appear, they may include:
Any one of these has many ordinary explanations. Several together, or one that persists, is a reason to ask your doctor specifically about the pancreas.
Risk factors
Prevention and screening
Screening looks for signs of cancer in people without symptoms. It may be an option if your risk is very high — a strong family history, or an inherited DNA change. It usually means imaging such as MRI and ultrasound, repeated every year.
If you have a family history of pancreatic cancer, raise it with a health professional. They can review that history and help you understand whether genetic testing is right for you — and refer you to a counselor trained in genetics.
Talk to a Sky Advocate who has been through this, or start with the counselor directory. Either way, you will not be figuring it out alone.