The pancreas is a large gland that lies behind our stomach and often disease will go unnoticed with few symptoms.

We need our pancreas for digestion and the duct from the pancreas that has digestive enzymes joins our common bile duct from the liver. The pancreas however also is part of our hormone system and makes insulin. Cancer can start in the duct- which is more common and rarely can start in the cells of the pancreas.

The risk factors as listed by the Canadian Cancer Society include:

Pancreatic Cancer Risk Factors

  • Tobacco
  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Genetics
  • Occupational exposures
  • Chronic pancreatitis
  • Lack of physical activity

Symptoms can be very vague, and doctors can misdiagnose the disease as the presenting complaints can mimic other diseases.

Pancreatic Cancer Signs and Symptoms

  • pain in back or upper abdomen
  • worsening pain
  • worse at night or when flat
  • weight loss
  • jaundice
  • itching
  • change in digestion
  • loss of appetite
  • changing bowel habits
  • fatigue
  • swelling of legs

Often by the time of diagnosis, the disease is often spread in the body.

  • Pancreatic Cancer Statistics
  • 75 per cent die within first year
  • average within 3 months
  • only 2 per cent live 5 years

Treatment does include surgery and about 10 per cent of patients can have surgery to try to remove the cancer, but even with that, the odds of the cancer coming back are very high. There is chemotherapy and radiation therapy as well.

Advancements in Treatment:

While very little has changed in the treatment area for this disease over the past 40 years, the last 6 months have seen some big advancements.

At Princess Margaret, there is now the Wallace McCain Centre for Pancreatic Cancer -- essentially it ensures rapid diagnosis, in 1 or 2 weeks.  

As well, a  new chemo drug called Abraxane has shown some results and is currently on the way to market in Canada.

And the idea of personalized therapy is on the increase, meaning that genetic markers may direct treatment. This is called gene expression profiling. In addition biomarkers may help determine outcome of disease.