What is the pancreas?

What is the pancreas?

The pancreas is part of the digestive system. It lies high up in the upper half of the abdomen behind the stomach and in front of the spine. It is a solid flat gland about nine inches long, salmon pink in colour and shaped like a comma.The larger end is the head and the smaller end is the tail; in between is the body of the pancreas.The head is attached to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum), where all the food enters from the stomach. The tube (bile duct) which carries bile from the liver to the intestines passes through the head of the pancreas where it is joined by the tube carrying the pancreatic digestive juices.The main blood vessels of the intestines go under the pancreas.

The pancreas has two main functions. It produces digestive juice (enzymes which help to digest food) and insulin (a hormone which balances the sugar in your blood).The digestive juice fl ows into the duodenum and mixes with the food and bile to digest your meal. It also produces other hormones which help with digestion and bicarbonate to balance the acid from the stomach.

Are there different types of pancreatic cancer?

 The most common type of pancreatic cancer comes from part of the pancreas that produces the digestive juice and is called ductal adenocarcinoma.This is the type that this leafl et is referring to. Most (90%) of these pancreatic cancers are found in the head of the pancreas.There are other less common types (endocrine/neuroendocrine tumours) which come from the parts of the pancreas that produce hormones, and cancers can also arise from the bile duct as it passes through the pancreas or as it empties into the duodenum.

How common is pancreatic cancer?

 In the UK about 7,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer are diagnosed each year. It affects men and women in equal numbers. It can affect people of any age but is commoner in people older than 60 years of age, though it can affect younger patients as well.
 

How do people get pancreatic cancer?

The main risk factors for developing pancreatic cancer are increasing age, smoking cigarettes, being overweight and having long standing inflammation of the pancreas (chronic pancreatitis). About 10% of pancreatic cancer is due to specifi c inherited diseases.These types of patients and families may be suitable for research screening programmes.

What symptoms will I have?

Sometimes there may be no symptoms for a long time or they may be very vague, such as a stomach upset, sometimes with altered stool habit that keeps recurring over a few months.

Symptoms can also depend on which part of the pancreas the cancer is located. You may have one or more of the following symptoms.

• Yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice), with pale coloured motions and dark urine (there also may be itching of the skin), this is due to a cancer in the head of the pancreas which blocks the bile duct.

• The stools can also be loose and float in the toilet pan.
  

• There may be loss of weight and appetite with tiredness.
  

• There may be a pain in the abdomen and back which gradually gets worse and is relieved by sitting forward.
  

• Occasionally patients may develop new sugar diabetes.