Pancreatic Cancer

There are a number of symptoms to look out for, including:

• Jaundice (when your skin and eyes go yellow)
• changes to the colour of your pee or poo 
• pain in the belly or back
• losing weight without meaning to or loss of appetite
• feeling sick (nausea) and vomiting
• feeling really tired
• feeling weak 
• feeling a bit confused.

Having these symptoms may not mean you have cancer, but it is important to check.

If you have any of these problems, or are worried about something else, yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker.
 

You won’t know if you have pancreatic cancer until your doctor has yarned with you, completed a physical examination and done some tests. The tests might include:

• a physical examination
• blood tests
• tests like an ultrasound, a CT scan, an MRI scan or others to see what your insides look like
• an endoscopy, where a doctor put a long tube down your throat so they can look inside your stomach
• a laparoscopy, where a doctor uses a thin tube with a light on the end to look at the organs in the abdomen
• a biopsy, where a tiny bit of your pancreas is removed during the endoscopy, and they look at it with a microscope.  

Most people who have these tests find out they don’t have cancer. But it’s important to check.
 

If you have pancreatic cancer, you might be told it’s at a certain stage. This describes whether or not it has spread to other parts of the body, and how far. Knowing the stage of the cancer helps you and your doctors to decide on the best treatment for you. 

• Stage 0: The cancer is in the top layer of pancreatic ducts and has not spread to the deeper part of the pancreas.
• Stage 1: The cancer is only in the pancreas.
• Stage 2: The cancer has spread to the nearby tissue and organs or to the lymph nodes nearby.
• Stage 3: The cancer has spread into important blood vessels and nerves nearby.
• Stage 4: The cancer has spread to other parts of the body such as the liver, the lungs or the belly – this is also known as metastatic cancer. 

With all types of pancreatic cancer, there are plenty of treatment options that can help you. 
 

Some people with pancreatic cancer have surgery. Some also have radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or targeted therapy, or hormone therapy, or something called ablation and embolisation. If you have pancreatic cancer, you might need one of these, or a combination of them. 

Your doctors will talk to you about what treatments they recommend and what your options are best for you. 

Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker about which treatment you might have.

Surgery

Surgery is a procedure done to remove the cancer and help stop it from spreading to other parts of the body.  If the cancer has spread, sometimes surgery may be used to relieve symptoms to help you feel better. This is known as palliative surgery and is considered by our mob as Sorry Business. 

Surgery involves staying in hospital and having an anaesthetic. Surgery is different for everyone and so is recovery. You will need to recover in hospital for either a short or extended length of time until you are strong enough to go home. 

Your doctor will yarn with you beforehand about what is going to happen. If you need to travel away from home for surgery, assistance is available for travel and accommodation for you and your family.

Yarn with your doctor, nurse, or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker.

Read more about surgery.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy, also called radiation therapy, uses X-rays to destroy cancer cells in one part of your body.

Most people who have radiotherapy have it 5 days a week for 4-6 weeks, and each session can take 15 minutes. But it might be different for you.

You can only have radiotherapy in cities and some big towns – see this list. If your doctor thinks radiotherapy would help, and you don’t live near a radiotherapy site, assistance is available for travel and accommodation for you and your family.

Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker. 

Read more about radiotherapy.
 

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy, or ‘chemo’ involves you taking strong drugs to kill or slow the growth of the cancer cells.

Many people have chemo in cycles – usually two days every three weeks, or one day every three weeks. Some people have chemotherapy tablets at home, but most need to go to a hospital or clinic. But you usually don’t need to stay in hospital for chemo.

Your doctor may recommend that you have chemo at the same time as radiotherapy treatments. In that case, the chemo is usually given as tablets or an infusion into your veins. 

Many people have chemo in cycles – usually two days every three weeks, or one day every three weeks. Some people have chemotherapy tablets at home, but most need to go to a hospital or clinic. But you usually don’t need to stay in hospital for chemo.

Chemo can make people feel sick for a while, but there are things they can do to help. Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker. Mob who have had chemo before say that spending time on Country, traditional healing, bush medicines, Men’s Business, Women’s Business and engaging in cultural practices can help.

Read more about chemotherapy and side effects.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is treatment with drugs that help your immune system attack the cancer cells. 

Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker, and with other mob who have had the treatment. 

Read more about immunotherapy.

Targeted therapies

Targeted therapies are newer drugs that try to stop the cancer growing. Targeted therapies try to attack cancer cells without harming healthy cells.

Most of these usually come in tablet form that you can take at home. If your doctor thinks they might help, here are some questions to ask.

Read more about targeted therapy. 

Ablation and embolisation

Ablation means killing the cancer with heat or cold. You have a scan or ultrasound to see what is happening inside your body, and the doctor puts some very fine needles into your pancreas. They then apply the heat or cold. 

Embolisation means injecting a chemical into an artery so blood stops flowing to the pancreas. This kills some of the cancer and can reduce the size of the tumour. 

These techniques are usually used to relieve symptoms and help you feel better.

Read more about ablation and embolisation.
 

It is important for you to understand why you are getting the treatment your doctor chooses and how it is supposed to help you. Different treatments try to do different things. It depends on what cancer you have, and whether it has spread, and where you live, and what you want. Ask your doctor or specialist if the treatment they suggest:

• is meant to cure you, by getting rid of the cancer and stopping it spreading, or
• won’t cure you but is meant to make you feel better or prolong your life.

Your doctors will yarn with you and explain this. You can yarn with them and tell them what you think, and what you want. Some people will want to try everything possible to stay alive. Others want simpler treatments, or don’t want to leave Country for treatment, or don’t want any treatment. It’s your choice. You can also talk to another doctor to help you decide.
 

It can take time to decide about treatment. There are usually some options to hear about and choices to make. 

It can be helpful to write things down, or have someone else come to appointments to help remember information. Mob who have been diagnosed with cancer say that yarning with trusted family, friends and Elders helps with making decisions.

Yarn with your doctor, specialist, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker. 

Read more about treatment. 
 

Always ask about the cost of treatment. Many treatments are free through public hospitals, but some are not. Ask your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker.

Learn more about financial support.

It all depends on the type of treatment you’re having. People will have treatment for different durations of time.

After treatment is finished, your doctors will keep in touch with you so they can check how you’re going. Your cancer journey gives you an opportunity to build trust and safe relationships with your doctors and medical team that may last for many years.
 

It is not possible to say what causes pancreatic cancer in a single person. We do know there are some features that are more common in people who develop pancreatic cancer. These features are called ”risk factors”. 
But it is usually hard to be sure whether a risk factor contributed to the development of the cancer. And having one or more risk factors does not mean that someone will develop this cancer. In fact, many people with pancreatic cancer have no obvious risk factors.
Risk factors for pancreatic cancer that can be changed include:

• tobacco smoking 
• being overweight

Risk factors for pancreatic cancer that can’t be changed include:

• getting older 
• family history of pancreatic cancer
• diabetes, especially Type 2 Diabetes.
• chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
• liver cirrhosis
• stomach infection, such as from bacteria like helicobacter pylori.
   

Clinical trials might be an option for you. Yarn with your doctor to help you decide if taking part is a good option. Read more about clinical trials. 

Read more detail on pancreatic cancer here.