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What Are the Symptoms?

Early pancreatic cancers cause few symptoms. And because signs and symptoms of most pancreatic cancer may be mistaken for less-serious digestive problems, the disease is rarely detected before it has spread to nearby tissues or distant organs through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Symptoms that may arise, in typical order of occurrence, include:

• Significant weight loss accompanied by abdominal pain — the most likely warning signs.
• Vague but gradually worsening abdominal pain that may decrease when leaning forward and increase when lying down. Pain is often severe at night and may radiate to the lower back.
• Digestive or bowel complaints such as diarrhea, constipation, gas pains, bloating, or belching.
• Nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss.
• Jaundice, indicated by yellowish discoloration of the skin or eye whites and very dark urine.
• Sudden onset of diabetes.
• Black or bloody stool, indicating bleeding from the digestive tract.
• Overall weakness.
• Enlarged liver and gallbladder.
• Itching.
• Clay- or light-colored stools.
• Blood clots in the legs.

A few rare types of pancreatic cancer cause hormonal imbalances that produce their own symptoms, which might include:

• Episodes of weakness, sweating, rapid heartbeat, irritability or skin flushing related to low blood sugar.
• Severe ulcer symptoms, such as stomach pain and watery diarrhea, which do not respond to antacids or ulcer medications.

If you experience any of these symptoms longer than two weeks, call your doctor for a full physical examination.