What are the early symptoms of pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive tract that is highly malignant and difficult to diagnose and treat. In recent years, the incidence and mortality rates of pancreatic cancer have increased significantly. The 5-year survival rate of the standard cancer treatment is less than 1%, which can be said to be one of the malignant tumors with the worst prognosis. A big reason for this is that the early diagnosis rate of pancreatic cancer is not high, while the mortality rate after surgery is very high. Therefore, regular physical examinations and sensitive self-tests are very important. So, what symptoms in life should alert you to the possibility of pancreatic cancer? If you have the following suspicious symptoms, you need to pay special attention:

1. Frequent pain in the upper abdomen: Upper abdominal pain is the most common clinical symptom of pancreatic cancer. Sometimes the pain radiates to the back and is very painful. This pain is related to the location and size of the tumor. If it is pain in the right upper abdomen, it indicates that the lesion is in the head of the pancreas, and if it is pain in the left upper abdomen, it indicates that the lesion may be in the tail of the pancreas.

2. Frequent diarrhea: Unexplained diarrhea and white stools occur and are persistent.

3. Physical loss: Generally there is a significant weight loss, accompanied by symptoms such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and fatigue, which should not be ignored.

4. Jaundice: Jaundice is accompanied by yellowing of a large area of ​​mucous membranes. Most people have yellowing of the sclera of the eyeball as the first symptom. This is because pancreatic cancer compresses the common bile duct, affecting the bile entering the intestine. This is more common in ampulla and lower bile duct tumors. However, it should be noted that the appearance of jaundice does not necessarily mean that the cancer is in the late stage. On the contrary, some patients happen to discover the tumor earlier because of this jaundice.