Pancreatic cancer kills so many people in part because it’s extremely difficult to diagnose. Symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, and jaundice – yellowing of the skin and eyes – don’t usually appear until cancer has spread.
In some cases, early diagnosis and quick surgery can cut out the tumor and save the patient. However, only about 15 percent of people are diagnosed early enough for surgery to help, while more than half of people are diagnosed after cancer has spread to other organs.
By 2030, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network estimates that nearly 67,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer annually. Although there’s limited information available about what you can do to reduce your risk of the disease, there are lifestyle changes you can make to decrease your odds of that deadly diagnosis.
1. Don’t smoke. Smoking increases your risk of pancreatic cancer dramatically. According to a study published in 2010 by the American Association for Cancer Research, current smokers had an 82 percent greater risk of pancreatic cancer, while former smokers had a 34 percent increased risk. In addition, it took 20 years for a former smoker’s risk of pancreatic cancer to fall to non-smoking levels. However, people who lived with smokers and breathed the smoke didn’t have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.
2. Lose weight, especially around your abdomen. A 2011 study in the Annals of Oncology reported that the risk for pancreatic cancer rises for each extra inch of abdominal fat. Abdominal fat also raises your risk for diabetes and heart disease. Fortunately, it’s easier to shed abdominal fat than it is to shed fat around your hips and buttocks, according to Harvard Medical School.
3. Exercise moderately. Raising your pulse rate for as little as an hour and a half each week can reduce your risk of pancreatic cancer by up to 50 percent, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Exercise works to reduce your risk of the disease even if you’re obese, the study reports.
4. Avoid diabetes. A study in the journal Gastroenterology reported that nearly 1 percent of newly diagnosed diabetics contracted pancreatic cancer within three years of their diabetes diagnosis. It’s possible that newly diagnosed diabetes represents a very early sign of developing pancreatic cancer; in that case, you might not be able to reverse the process once it starts. However, making healthy lifestyle changes that help you avoid diabetes, such as exercising, also may help you avoid pancreatic cancer.
5. Load up on fruits and vegetables. A study from the Mayo Clinic, reported in the medical journal Cancer Causes and Controls, found that men and women who consumed the least amounts of fruits, including melon, citrus and berries, and vegetables, including leafy green vegetables such as kale, tomatoes, and beans, had the highest risk of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The results held up even in people with diabetes or who normally ate a lot of sugar.
6. Avoid heavily processed “white” flour and grains. In that same Mayo Clinic study, researchers noted that people who ate more white flour and sugar were diagnosed more frequently with pancreatic cancer. Meanwhile, people whose tastes tended more toward whole grains and fiber-filled grain products had a lower risk.
It’s probably no coincidence that the list of lifestyle changes to make to avoid pancreatic cancer resembles a list of changes recommended to avoid some other types of cancer, plus diabetes and heart disease; the same cluster of unhealthy habits appears to predispose people to all of those diseases. The good news is, once you take steps to reduce your pancreatic cancer risk, you’ll also improve your overall health and cut your risk of all those diseases at once.
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My husband just lost his brother to pancreatic cancer on Monday, 10-17. I have read and re-read this list of risk factors and I think the most important one on the list, well they are all important, but avoiding diabetes is so crucial because diabetes puts such a strain on the pancreas. The pancreas secretes insulin as well as enzymes that are crucial for digestion. My husband and his siblings are all diabetic- heredity and my brother in law struggled to keep his under control. So, please take this seriously, although pancreatic cancer is said to be rare, it has forever changed my family.
I lost my beautiful wonderful Mother in April of 93. She never drank, never smoked, lived a healthy lifestyle as well as was active outside gardening and doing other outdoor work she loved. She had troubles with her digestion and would go to Doctor’s in her town for at least 10 years that I remember and they would tell her it’s in your head. Well she was diagnosed after she went to a specialist in a larger town. This specialist found an inoperable tumor. During this time they told her she had an option of flying to California and having radiation pellets put in her tumor. Seeing what she went through was horrible. They have advanced tremendously since. She was strong enough that she made it 1 1/2 years after diagnosis. I guess the point is if you show symptoms that are recurring don’t settle for a small town Doctor who doesn’t do any tests. Amanda I’m sorry for your husband’s and your loss. Thank you Cathe for the great articles.