Xiao Ke's mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three months ago. When diagnosed, it was already in the advanced stage and she lost the chance of surgical treatment. It took less than two months from diagnosis to death. Xiaoke's family was deeply saddened by her mother's death. Their grandfather also died of the disease that year.
Doctors feel sorry for this. If there are direct relatives in the family who have a history of the disease, screening should be carried out in advance. However, many people do not pay enough attention to this, so that the disease develops to the advanced stage once diagnosed.
Why should we pay attention to pancreatic cancer screening?
A study published by the Johns Hopkins University Pancreatic Cancer Center team pointed out that pancreatic cancer screening is of great significance for high-risk groups. Most screened patients are still in the early stages when they are discovered, 5 The annual survival rate can reach 73.3%, and the median survival period is 9.8 years.
You must know that the median survival time of some unscreened patients is only 1.5 years. Cancer screening can significantly extend the survival time of patients. Pancreatic cancer often has no obvious symptoms in its early stages, and even some patients with symptoms can easily be treated as other diseases.
By the time the symptoms become severe, they have often progressed to the mid-to-late stage. At this time, most patients have lost the opportunity for surgical treatment. Many patients are "sentenced to death" once diagnosed, with only a few months left to survive.
So, which groups are at high risk for pancreatic cancer? If you have these characteristics, it is recommended that you undergo pancreatic cancer screening as soon as possible.
People who need to pay attention to pancreatic cancer screening are mainly those in these four categories
and those with bad lifestyles
Some people who have bad habits of smoking and drinking for a long time or are obese have a much higher risk of pancreatic cancer than ordinary people. These people are in great need of regular screening after the age of 40.
The occurrence of pancreatic cancer has a certain hereditary tendency. If there are direct relatives in the family who have been affected by the disease, the chance of getting the disease will be higher than that of ordinary people.
, Diabetes
People with a history of diabetes for many years also have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. For people who have had a medical history for 5 years, the risk of cancer will increase 1 to 1.5 times compared with normal people. About 80% of patients clinically diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have abnormal blood sugar. The longer the medical history, the higher the risk.
. Chronic pancreatitis
Some people with chronic pancreatitis are also at high risk of pancreatic cancer. Many patients think that inflammation is not a big deal and do not pay attention to regular follow-up and review. If no intervention is carried out for a long time, there is a high chance that chronic pancreatitis will evolve into cancer.
In addition to screening, how can we prevent and treat pancreatic cancer on a daily basis?
Pay attention to the two early symptoms:
The most typical early symptoms of pancreatic cancer are abdominal distension and abdominal pain , but because these symptoms are not specific, they are easily ignored, and many people even treat them as digestive tract diseases.
Abdominal pain caused by pancreatic cancer in the early stage is generally in the upper abdomen. The pain is not very strong and exists intermittently. As the disease continues to progress, the pain will become more and more severe.
Some patients with lesions located in the head of the pancreas may also compress the bile duct, which in turn blocks bile secretion. A large amount of bile flows to various parts of the body with the blood, causing the patient's skin and eyes to become abnormally yellow..
Avoid 3 types of food:
Long-term high-fat, high-calorie and high-protein eating patterns will increase the burden on the pancreas . Long-term exposure to excessive pressure can easily lead to functional damage to the pancreas, which can easily cause functional damage to the pancreas. Chronic pancreatitis may develop into cancer in the later stages.
Actively prevent and treat two diseases:
Patients who suffer from diabetes or chronic pancreatitis must actively control the original disease and take medication for treatment under the guidance of a doctor.
You must not ignore the condition and feel that there is no major discomfort in the body. By the time obvious discomfort occurs, the condition is often already serious, and it will be too late to regret it by then.
Smoking cigarettes and limiting alcohol consumption: Tobacco and alcoholic beverages contain a large number of harmful substances. Long-term smoking and drinking are harmful to health and will increase the burden on the pancreas. Most patients clinically diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have a history of smoking and drinking.
Additional reading: How to screen for pancreatic cancer?
Clinical screening methods for pancreatic cancer mainly include CT examination, color ultrasound, MRI examination, ERCP examination and blood test, among which color ultrasound examination is the most common and does not involve radiation during the examination.
CT and MRI examinations play complementary roles and can observe the internal conditions of the bile ducts, while ERCP can display the pancreatic duct and bile duct, which is the "gold standard" for diagnosis.
Blood tests are used to screen whether the tumor markers CA-199 and CEA are abnormally elevated in patients. These two indicators often indicate pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer has always been known as the "King of Cancers", which shows how high its fatality rate is. For some high-risk groups, daily screening must be paid attention to. #HealthTrue Knowledge Plan# #Healthy Star Plan#
Reference:
[1] "Pancreatic cancer is the king of cancers. Who are the high-risk groups for pancreatic cancer and how can they be detected?". Zhihu - General Surgery Dr. Zeng. 2018.10.19
[2] " National Cancer Prevention and Treatment Awareness Week 丨 To prevent pancreatic cancer, stay away from tobacco and alcohol, and screen every year after the age of 40". Beijing News. 2022.4.19
[3] " JCO: Pancreatic cancer screening is a must! Screening high-risk groups can increase the survival time of diagnosed patients by 6.5 times". Singularity Cancer Exploration. 2022-07-09
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