Main symptoms of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer may not have any symptoms, or they might be hard to spot.
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer can include:
- the whites of your eyes or your skin turn yellow (jaundice), and you may also have itchy skin, darker pee and paler poo than usual
- loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
- feeling tired or having no energy
- a high temperature, or feeling hot or shivery
Other symptoms can affect your digestion, such as:
- feeling or being sick
- diarrhoea or constipation, or other changes in your poo
- pain at the top part of your tummy and your back, which may feel worse when you're eating or lying down and better when you lean forward
- symptoms of indigestion, such as feeling bloated
If you have another condition like irritable bowel syndrome, you may get symptoms like these regularly.
You might find you get used to them. But it's important to be checked by a GP if your symptoms change, get worse or do not feel normal for you.
Urgent advice: Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if:
- the whites of your eyes or your skin turn yellow
- you're being sick for more than 2 days
- you have diarrhoea for more than 7 days
- you have symptoms that you're worried about, but are not sure where to get help
You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.
Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:
- you've lost a noticeable amount of weight
- you have other symptoms of pancreatic cancer that get worse or do not get better after 2 weeks
- you have a condition that causes symptoms with your digestion that are not getting better after 2 weeks of using your usual treatments
Important
Some of these symptoms are very common and can be caused by other conditions.
Having the symptoms does not definitely mean you have pancreatic cancer, but it's important to get checked by a GP.
If your symptoms are caused by cancer, finding it early may mean it's easier to treat.
What happens at the GP appointment
The GP may feel your tummy.
They may ask you to give a pee sample or have a blood test.
Referral to a specialist
You may get an urgent referral for more tests or to see a specialist in hospital if the GP thinks you have symptoms that could be cancer. This does not definitely mean you have cancer.