What are the symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer?
The earliest signs of pancreatic cancer are often so vague and mild that they are overlooked. The most common early symptoms typically include loss of appetite with mild weight loss and a vague, mild discomfort in the upper abdomen or occasionally in the middle-back area (the pancreas is positioned in the back of the abdomen directly over the spine). Because there are so many other potential, and relatively minor, explanations for this spectrum of symptoms, the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer are often ignored. However, as the cancer progresses, it causes increasingly more noticeable symptoms, such as yellow jaundice (often with little or no associated pain), which stems from the obstruction of the main duct that drains the liver’s bile. As the tumor continues to grow, other digestive problems such as bloating or nausea from obstruction of the stomach are also common. Although pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect on physical exam in initial stages, firmness is some times felt i
