diagnosis
What does the pancreas do, and how does cancer change the way it works?
The pancreas helps you digest food. It also helps control your blood sugar. Cancer can start in the pancreas. It can change how the pancreas works.
The pancreas helps you digest food and helps control blood sugar. Cancer often starts in the part that makes digestive juices, and that can change how the pancreas works.
Here's why: - The pancreas is a gland that sits behind your stomach and in front of your spine. It makes juices that break down food and hormones that help control blood sugar levels. - Pancreatic cancer usually starts in the cells that make those digestive juices. - This cancer is hard to find early. The pancreas is hidden behind other organs, so doctors cannot see or feel a tumor during a routine exam. - Doctors use a physical exam, blood tests, imaging tests, and a biopsy to check for pancreatic cancer. - Because it is often found late and can spread quickly, pancreatic cancer can be hard to treat. Care teams may use surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy, which attacks cancer cells while causing less harm to normal cells.
Talk with your care team about your test results and your treatment options.
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This page is educational, not medical advice. Talk with your care team about decisions that apply to you. If something feels urgent, contact your care team — for emergencies call your local emergency number.
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