pancreatic cancer worried

[ant12]

I have been having pain in my abdomen and left side for over a year feel ill every time I eat l. I now am concerned I have pancreatic cancer as all the symptoms match mine. :-( feel so upset

[Gary A]

If you had pancreatic cancer for over a year you'd know all about it. You'd be a very ill individual, the weight would have fallen off you and you'd probably be bed ridden in hospital or possibly no longer alive. There are literally hundreds of conditions that could be causing your symptoms. It sounds more to me like IBS. Do you find its worse after spicy foods or does it seem to flare up from time to time?

[ant12]

Hi thank you for the reply no this left pain has been there for the last year like a pulling pain near my left armpit. I now have lost my appetite get pains more after when I eat bu around to my back on my ribs feel better when my stomach is empty than full.
They say that pancreatic cancer takes along time to develop.

[Gary A]

its quite a leap to just assume it's pancreatic cancer. Have you saw a doctor with this concern?

[ant12]

Yes but I have all bloods done but nothing shown. But that doesn't always give you the full picture

[Gary A]

It's certainly a large piece of the puzzle though. Are you losing weight or have you experienced jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and or eyes? Also, just out of curiosity, what age are you?

[ant12]

27 no yellow of the eyes

---------- Post added at 21:47 ---------- Previous post was at 21:46 ----------

I lost 5kg about a month ago but it has stopped a stable weight

[Gary A]

Pancreatic cancer is virtually unheard of in people under the age of 40. Also, if you have no jaundice, no weight loss and the only symptom you really do have is a bit of abdominal pain, then it's quite safe to assume that you don't have pancreatic cancer. It's most likely IBS or some other pretty benign abdominal condition. Did your GP ever suggest what might be the cause?

[ant12]

I had h pylori stomach bug thing about 2 months back that all clear now but still suffering. I have been referred and waiting a endoscopy and colonoscopy

---------- Post added at 21:55 ---------- Previous post was at 21:53 ----------

But feel drained and weak all the time and this loss of appetite that makes me feel like there is something g seriously wrong.
So is it rare to have pancreatic cancer at 27...?

[Gary A]

Well I'm sure that'll get to the bottom of it. I really don't think there is any reason whatsoever to think you've got pancreatic cancer, I think you should put that idea right out of your head and try to relax until you get your tests. You'll be fine. Pancreatic cancer is rare in anyone under age 40, and in fact, is almost exclusively a condition that affects people between the ages of 50 and 85. You're 27, you're talking about odds of millions to one here.

[ant12]

Thanks Gary A

When you read things like this it does worry me

The risk of developing*pancreatic cancer*increases with*age. Most people who develop*pancreatic cancer*are older than 45; in fact, 90% are older than 55 and 70% are older than 65. However, adults of any*age can*be diagnosed withpancreatic cancer.

---------- Post added at 22:03 ---------- Previous post was at 22:00 ----------

Thanks GARY A really appreciate your help.

[Gary A]

I understand but come on, at 27 pancreatic cancer is about as unlikely a diagnosis as you can get.

[VickyC]

Gary is right Ant, if you had undiagnosed PC you would be feeling a great deal worse by now (as in, hospitalised). My HA centres around PC so I totally know how you are feeling, however whilst the statement you said about it developing slowly may be true, the slow development part of it is symptomless. Symptoms only appear when it is more advanced at which point it would develop quickly. At the peak of my HA I read A LOT of PC patient stories online, and whilst I absolutely do not recommend you do that (googling made me feel a million times worse) the one common factor in everything I read is that once people started getting symptoms, they were either diagnosed with PC almost immediately (probably from a blood test) or if not straight away it was within a few weeks as their symptoms became rapidly worse. I didn't read a single case where someone had in diagnosed symptoms for anywhere near as long as a year.
I hope this can reassure you. I still worry too but the above info reassures me a little as I have been experiencing symptoms for about 10 weeks now, and I figure I'd be feeling a lot worse than I do if I had PC.

[JustJoe25]

I am still worried about this myself. I know at 27 this is almost unheard of but there are stories out there that are scary. However it's very rare and I try to tell myself that I def don't have pancreatic cancer. This seems to be one of the top fears for a lot of us with HA.

[swajj]

I was one of my fears. I saw a specialist last year and he looked at my blood test results and saif if I had pancreatic cancer my bilirubin would be up. If your G p saw that in your blood test then I'm sure he or she would have investigated further. I think pancreatic cancer along with ALS and brain tumours can join the list of most feared diseases amongst HA sufferers. We fear the diseases which are least likely to be curable. Put pancreatic cancer out of your mind.

[ant12]

Hi thank you for all your replys

Swajj i had a blood test done recently and the billirubin was slightly higher limit was 15 and mine was 18.

but the dr seems not to be to worried about this to much i have read some where that +/- values are usualy 2% to 3% over.

Just am concerned :( i try not to think about it) :(

[swajj]

Yes your's is insignificant. If you were to research the levels of those individuals who actually have pancreatic cancer you would find that their levels are very, very high. Please don't research that though! Trust me ant the biggest mistake you can make is researching any of the health fears you have. Your anxiety will jump on it and your mind will start to create the symptoms. You demonstrate none of the symptoms of pancreatic cancer.

[silver_shoes]

I used to work as a gastro medical secretary and I can tell you that the chances of you having ca of the pancreas are VERY very unlikely! There would be other symptoms like others have mentioned, such as jaundice and weight loss, especially since you have been having this pain for over a year then if you had cancer, in a year a LOT would have changed such as you becoming very unwell.

I know it is very hard to relax when you have such concerns but please try to be reassured. It could be IBS. I have IBS and believe me, when I have a flare up, my pain can be felt in all kinds of random places around my abdomen. I hope this helps you.

[ant12]

Thank you all for the great advice you are great people god bless thank you Anthony