Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is difficult because the symptoms are so non-specific and varied. Common pancreatic cancer symptoms include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, significant weight loss and painless jaundice. Jaundice occurs when the pancreatic cancer grows and pressure obstructs the common bile duct, which partially runs through the head of the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer tumours of the head of the pancreas (approximately 60% of cases) will more easily give rise to such symptoms.

Courvoisier's law defines the presence of jaundice and a painlessly distended gallbladder as strongly indicative of pancreatic cancer, and may be used to distinguish pancreatic cancer from gallstones.

Pancreatic cancer is usually discovered during the course of the evaluation of aforementioned symptoms. In pancreatic cancer, liver function tests may show a combination of results indicative of bile duct obstruction (raised bilirubin, ?-glutamyl transpeptidase and alkaline phosphatase levels). Imaging studies, such as ultrasound or abdominal CT may be used to identify pancreatic cancer tumors. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is another procedure that can help visualize the pancreatic cancer tumor and obtain tissue to establish the diagnosis.

Pancreatic cancer symptoms
This page has information on the symptoms of pancreatic cancer. You can scroll down the page to read it all, or click on the links below to go straight to information on

Early symptoms of the commonest type of pancreatic caner
Other symptoms of the commonest type of pancreatic cancer
Symptoms from rare endocrine pancreatic tumours
Early symptoms
The commonest type of cancer of the pancreas are exocrine tumours. the symptoms can be quite vague. and they vary depending on where the cancer is in your pancreas – in the head, body or tail. Early symptoms can include

Weight loss
Loss of appetite
General discomfort or pain around the stomach area
Back pain
Jaundice
About 5 out of 10 people have jaundice when they first go to their doctors.

Weight loss
You may have recently lost a lot of weight for no apparent reason. At least 10% of your total body weight. This symptom is more common in cancers of the head of the pancreas.

Pain
About 7 out of 10 people with pancreatic cancer first go to their doctors because they have pain. Pain is more common in cancers of the body and tail of the pancreas. People describe it as a dull pain that feels as if it is boring into you. it can begin in the stomach area and spread around to the back. the pain is worse when you lie down and is better if you sit forward. it can be worse after meals. Your abdomen may also be generally tender or painful if your liver, pancreas or gall bladder are inflamed or enlarged.

Jaundice
About 5 out of 10 people have jaundice when they first go to their doctors. Jaundice is yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. the urine is darker than normal and bowel motions may be lighter in colour. Jaundice is more common with cancer of the head of the pancreas because the tumour blocks the bile duct. This tube carries bile into the duodenum. If it is blocked the bile ends up in your bloodstream instead. Bile contains a lot of yellow pigments so it turns the skin yellow. Jaundice is a common symptom of many liver and gall bladder diseases. it is often easier to spot in the whites of the eyes rather than the skin.

Jaundice without pain is the commonest reason for first going to the doctor in patients who have pancreatic cancer that can be removed with surgery (is 'operable').

Other symptoms
There are other symptoms that you can have with cancer of the pancreas. You may have any of these symptoms from before you are diagnosed. or you may develop them later. of course, you may not have all of them. Not everyone has every symptom. but these non specific symptoms are common in pancreatic cancer. You may have

Diabetes
Itching
Sickness
Change in bowel movements
Fever and shivering

Pancreatic cancer, primarily ductal adenocarcinoma, accounts for about 30,500 cases and 29,700 deaths in the US annually. Symptoms include weight loss, abdominal pain, and jaundice. Diagnosis is by CT. Treatment is surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Prognosis is poor because disease is often advanced at the time of diagnosis.
Other symptoms include:
* Loss of appetite
* Nausea and vomiting
* Weakness
* Fatigue
* Diarrhea
* Indigestion
* Back pain
* Clay-colored stools
* Paleness
* Depression
Please see the web pages for more details on Pancreatic carcinoma.

I think several people have shown the perils of merely googling an answer.

Classical presention of a pancreatic cancer will usually be a loss of appetite (sometimes nausea, rarely vominting, unless there is gastric outflow obstruction from a Ca in the HoP (head of pancreas) or ampullary tumour impinging on gastric outflow.

Often, in around 60% of pancreatic tumours, jaundice is a key factor that results in admission to hospital. Liver function tests will be give a clearly obstructive picture. Attributed to jaundice are the traditional yellowing of the skin and sclera, although in advanced jaundice this can progress through to green, with aple stools, dark urine and generalised pruritus (itching).

Abdominal pain is common, but so is painless obstructive jaudice. If abdominal pain is present it is usually radiating through to the back.

General cancerous symtpoms such as weight loss, fatigue, general malaise are often present.

Of the 137 pancreatic cancers seen by our team in 2006, 80% were emergency admissions or A+E attendances, 11% were GP referral, either 2ww or other, and the other 9% included consultant referral and incidentaloma's as we call them. (incidental findings) This tells you symptoms don't present early.

USS will often show dilated ducts, sometimes a vague area in the HoP, shown as low attentuation on CT. EUS, whilst sometimes helpful for histological purposes (if brushings or bipsy at ERCP or PTC were unsuccessful) is more commonly used to see if the tumour is free of the local vessels and ammenable to surgical resection. it prevented 13 operations this year which were deemed radiologically operable on CT, but not by EUS.

Just go to the doctor, it's nothing to wait around for.

extreme back pain sugar surges and crashes, see a doctor, not us