Hello, my name is Vicki Stevenson-Hornby. I am a Specialist Nurse for the Pancreas and Hepatobiliary Rapid Diagnostic Service here at ELHT. I am very grateful to Martin for allowing me to author a guest blog this week during pancreatic cancer awareness month.
I am absolutely committed and passionate about raising the profile of pancreatic cancer and as such, I welcome this opportunity to share with you some of the reasons for that passion, while also sharing with you the symptoms of pancreatic cancer, some of the risk factors associated with pancreatic cancer and, finally, asking you all to join me in embracing the need to raise awareness of this ruthless disease. Where possible I’d like to ask you to join us on “wear it purple day” held on World Pancreatic Cancer Day and to share information about symptoms information far and wide with the overriding aim of achieving an earlier diagnosis.
The pancreas is a large gland which is behind the stomach and in front of the spine, it has two main functions:
1. Producing enzymes which help to break down the food allowing the body to absorb the food as part of the digestive process.
2. Producing hormones such as insulin which help to control sugar levels in the blood.
Pancreatic Cancer affects males and females in equal number, it is the 10th most common cancer, but is the fifth most common cause of cancer in the UK. The survival rates for pancreatic cancer have seen very little improvement in the last 50 years and the reality of the devastation of this disease is that one in four people who receive a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer die within 28 days of that diagnosis.
Some of the reasons why the survival rates are as bad as this and, the reason why more awareness is needed is, unlike some other cancer types, there isn’t any screening programme for pancreatic cancer and it is impossible for anyone to self-examine with the intention of detecting a problem.
Indeed, only one third of people know what the pancreas does, this is very important as, if the majority area unaware of the function of the pancreas, how can they be expected to identify when something is wrong? While many people may not know anyone personally who have been affected by pancreatic, it has affected some high-profile people such as Patrick Swayze, Pavarotti and Alan Rickman, all of whom died as a result of their pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
When considering treatment options for pancreatic cancer, out of every 10 people diagnosed, one person would potentially be offered surgery and two out of 10 would be offered chemotherapy. This means that seven out of 10 would not be offered any active treatment. This highlights why an earlier diagnosis is so vital and why the awareness of symptoms is so vitally important.
Only 1% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will survive for 10 years and this survival rate is unchanged in over 50 years. Half of all people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within three months of receiving that diagnosis.
Some of the symptoms of pancreatic cancer include:
• Jaundice: the whites of your eyes or your skin could turn yellow, you may also have itchy skin, darker urine and paler poo than usual
• Unintentional, unexplained weight loss
• Persistent changes in bowel habits – poo becoming loose or harder, floating and pale
• Pain in the upper/mid back which may be worse after eating and may be worse when lying down
• Pain at the top part of your tummy and your back, which may feel worse when you are eating or lying down and better when you lean forward
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Sudden diagnosis of diabetes in someone who is not overweight new diagnosis of diabetes
Anyone experiencing the symptoms detailed above should seek medical advice. Of course, there are many other reasons for many of those symptoms, but the earlier pancreatic cancer is diagnosed, the more likely it is that treatment could be offered.
There are some recognised risk factors which are associated with pancreatic cancer and may increase the chance of someone going on to develop pancreatic cancer such as pancreatic disorders (specifically chronic pancreatitis and diabetes), smoking, obesity and genetics. There is more information on risk factors of pancreatic cancer at panact.org/risks.
The colour associated with pancreatic cancer awareness is purple. Throughout November, I can be seen wearing various items of purple clothing and when in uniform, have purple fob watch, pen and shoelaces.
At the moment, I even have purple hair (quite a noticeable difference as I am usually blonde) but I will literally stop at nothing in the name of raising awareness of pancreatic cancer and welcome and encourage as many people as possible to join me with the aim of raising as much awareness of this disease as possible.
World Pancreatic Cancer Day is Thursday, 17 November 2022. On this day, many well known landmarks across the world light up purple to raise the profile of pancreatic cancer. In addition, people are invited to join the awareness by “wearing it purple”. I would like to invite as many people as possible to support World Pancreatic Cancer Day by wearing something purple on the 17th of November. Please share pictures across social media with the hash tags #wearitpurple #turnitpurple and #pancreaticcancerawarenessmonth
More information on symptoms of pancreatic cancer or on supporting World Pancreatic Cancer Day can be found at pancreaticcancer.org or pancreaticcanceraction.org