Lao Li is 57 years old this year, and when he was young, he often drank with his friends until late at night, and was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. But thinking about who has no physical problems, or chronic, I don't feel at ease, and I should eat and drink.
It wasn't until he was over half a hundred years old that he began to really pay attention to health preservation and try to pick up his health again.
But a few months ago, Lao Li suddenly had a problem with bloating and stomach pain, thinking that he had a stomach problem, so he bought some medicine to take on his own. I have been taking medicine intermittently for more than 2 months, but the symptoms have not improved, I have lost more than 10 pounds, and even my bowel movements are abnormal, and I have to go to the toilet three or four times a day.
Realizing that something was wrong, he went to the hospital accompanied by his wife. The results showed that pancreatic cancer was at an advanced stage and the best time for treatment had been missed. My wife was crying bitterly, wasn't it a stomach problem?
1. How scary is pancreatic cancer, and why is it called the king of cancer?
Many people may not have an in-depth understanding of pancreatic cancer, only know that it is the "king of cancer".
According to the data in the 2020 China Cancer Registry Annual Report, the incidence and mortality rate of pancreatic cancer in mainland China in 2017 were 4.13 per 100,000 and 3.66 per 100,000, respectively. Among all cancers, it ranks 13th and 7th in morbidity and mortality, respectively. The morbidity and mortality rate are actually not high, so why is it so frightening?
A study published in the journal "The Lancet" based on population data from 17 cancer registries in mainland China pointed out that the 5-year survival rate of pancreatic cancer in 2012~2015 was only 7.2%, ranking first among all cancers.
In addition to the low survival rate, the incidence of pancreatic cancer is also increasing significantly compared with other digestive tract tumors, and the occurrence of pancreatic cancer generally has three characteristics:
First, the onset is insidious, and there are generally no symptoms or symptoms are not obvious in the early stage, which is easy to be mistaken for digestive tract abnormalities and delay the best treatment time;
Second, the treatment is difficult, because the pancreas is located deep in the abdominal cavity, and the surrounding blood vessels and tissues are greatly implicated, and the surgical resection rate is only 20~30%;
Third, pancreatic cancer is a primary and congenital drug-resistant disease, and many drugs have little effect on it, and the treatment effectiveness is very low.
2. Stomach pain is not necessarily a stomach disease, pay attention to the 5 manifestations of pancreatic cancer
As mentioned above, the pancreas is located deep in the abdomen, surrounded by the spleen, stomach, liver, and duodenum, and often does not have obvious symptoms in the early stage of pancreatic disease. In addition, it is close to the surrounding organs, and it is easy to be misdiagnosed as other diseases, such as stomach problems, when symptoms appear.
Zhang Xiangliang, chief physician of the Second Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery of the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, also pointed out that early pancreatic cancer is generally difficult to detect through routine examination, and can only be detected under enhanced CT and MR examinations, but these items are not included in routine physical examination.
You can observe more changes in your body every day, and once you find that you have these 5 symptoms, you should seek medical attention in time.
1. Yellow pox
When the head of the pancreas becomes malignant, it will cause abnormal jaundice symptoms, and as the disease progresses, the jaundice symptoms will become more and more severe, and the body will also have symptoms such as itchy skin, abnormal urine color, and clay-colored stools.
2. Unexplained elevated blood sugar
Pancreatic cancer can cause abnormal blood sugar in patients, and people > 50 years old who have symptoms of diabetes for no reason must be highly vigilant that it may be caused by pancreatic cancer.
3. Indigestion
Patients with indigestion symptoms such as abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, and changes in bowel habits for no reason, and there is no obvious abnormality in gastrointestinal endoscopy, need to be alert to the possibility of malignant pancreatic transformation.
4. Weight lowering
If you lose >% of your weight without deliberately losing weight, you must seek medical attention immediately.
5. Steatorrhea
Steatorrhea is characterized by a light color, a large amount, foam, oil, and a distinct foul odor on the surface, and the excreted feces will float on the surface of the water.
3. Long-term vegetarianism can cause pancreatic cancer?
In life, we have all heard the saying that long-term vegetarianism is more likely to lead to pancreatic cancer, is this true? This is mainly because long-term vegetarianism will affect bile secretion on the one hand, and insufficient fat intake on the other hand, both of which together promote cholesterol deposition and form stones.
People with gallstones do have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, but not all gallstones are associated with pancreatic cancer, and different types of gallstones have different levels of risk. In fact, the occurrence of every cancer is related to multiple factors, including genetics, environment, lifestyle habits, etc.
Compared with vegetarianism, long-term irregular eating habits, especially overeating, will cause more damage to the pancreas. Overeating will cause blood lipids and blood sugar to rise rapidly, and the pressure of the pancreas will rise sharply, secreting a large amount of pancreatic juice.
In this state, pancreatic juice may regurgitate, inducing acute pancreatitis. Repeated episodes of acute pancreatitis can evolve into chronic pancreatitis, which can lead to an increase in the incidence of pancreatic cancer by 10~20 times.
Chief Physician Pan Weidong, Director of the Department of Pancreatic and Hepatobiliary Surgery of Zhongshan Sixth Hospital, said that there are many risk factors for pancreatic cancer, and the following four need to be paid special attention.
1. Smoking
The smoke produced when tobacco is burned contains tar, nicotine and a large amount of toxic gases, and long-term inhalation of smoke will bring great stimulation to the body's tissues and organs, and it is easy to cause related mutations.
In addition, smoking will also excite the vagus nerve, so that the pancreatic cells will also be in a state of excitement for a long time, which will significantly increase the risk of mutation and eventually evolve into cancer. Some studies have clearly pointed out that the amount of pancreas and the number of years of smoking are clearly related to the occurrence of pancreatic cancer.
2. Obesity
Obesity is also related to the occurrence of pancreatic cancer, because overweight will lead to an increase in the burden on cells, and there is often chronic inflammation in this group of people, which will continue to stimulate tissue cells and increase the risk of cancer.
3. Chronic pancreatitis
Chronic pancreatitis causes local, segmental, and diffuse chronic progressive inflammation of the pancreas, causing irreversible damage to pancreatic tissue and function. Recurrent episodes of chronic pancreatitis are likely to evolve into cancer.
4. Other high-risk factors
Patients with a family history of pancreatic cancer, hereditary pancreatitis, familial malignant melanoma, and other hereditary neoplastic diseases also have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer than the general population.
In addition, some studies have found that people with diabetes and underlying pancreatic diseases also have an increased risk of cancer.
If the above abnormalities occur in the body, you need to be vigilant and seek medical attention as soon as possible to investigate the cause of the disease, in exchange for peace of mind.
Resources:
[1] "Pancreatic cancer, many people mistakenly think it is a stomach disease!", Screening Center of the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University, 2023-10-27
[2] "Pancreatic cancer is advanced as soon as it is discovered?these 10 signals must not be ignored→". Health Guangdong 2023-10-30
[3] "[Attention] If you want to avoid pancreatic tumors, these factors should be paid attention to", Shanghai Tongji Hospital Subscription No. 2022-12-21
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