02 April 2023 , 09:00
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Pancreatic cancer kills around 9,600 people every year in the UK - equivalent to 26 every day - making it the fifth most deadly cancer.
This disease occurs when cancerous cells grow, divide and then spread into the pancreas, an organ that sits in the top part of your tummy and helps you digest food and make hormones, such as insulin.
It is often labelled the “silent killer” because most patients don’t experience symptoms until the cancer has spread to surrounding organs.
But health experts have warned about the tell-tale signs that appear in a person’s stool, because when a pancreatic duct becomes blocked by a tumour there are insufficient pancreatic juices in the intestines.
The Columbia University Department of Surgery explains: “Insufficient pancreatic juices in the intestines can lead to poor absorption and diarrhoea, as the undigested food passes quickly through the digestive tract.
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“If this happens, stool may float due to the higher fat content, appear bulky, greasy, and unusually pale.”
According to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, most pancreatic cancer patients experience diarrhoea, constipation or both.
“Diarrhoea consisting of loose, watery, oily or foul-smelling stools can be caused by insufficient amounts of pancreatic enzymes in the intestines,” the charity added.
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Pancreatic cancer kills around 9,600 people every year in the UK (Getty Images/EyeEm)“This leads to malabsorption as undigested food passes quickly through the digestive tract. Constipation is also a common problem, particularly among patients taking pain medications."
However, if the digestive system is working too slowly, the stool may become hard, dry and difficult to pass.
What’s more, the Pancreatic Cancer UK Organisation highlights that the stool may be hard to flush down the toilet and “smell horrible”.
The foul odour stems from the fatty element of steatorrhoea, which produces a distinctive smell of volatile organic compounds.
These chemicals, which contain carbon and are found in all living things, can help doctors detect pancreatic cancer at an earlier stage.
In 2021, a study identified additional symptoms of pancreatic cancer that can show up a year before diagnosis, including dark urine and thirst.
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Other symptoms included:
Problems swallowing
Diarrhoea
Change in bowel habits
Vomiting
Indigestion
Abdominal mass
Abdominal pain
Weight loss
Constipation
Fat in stool
Abdominal swelling
Nausea
Flatulence
Heartburn
Fever
Tiredness
Appetite loss
Itching
Back pain.
Though dark urine is now recognised as a sign of the disease, it’s important to note that foul-smelling urine is not.
Both yellowing of the skin (jaundice) and bleeding in the stomach or intestine are also seen as the two most serious symptoms associated with the disease.
“When pancreatic cancer is diagnosed earlier, patients have a higher chance of survival,” said Dr Weiqi Liao, data scientist at the University of Oxford.
“It is possible to diagnose patients when they visit their GP, but both patients and GPs need to be aware of the symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer.”
Experts have warned about the tell-tale signs that appear in a person’s stool (Getty Images)In fact, researchers found a whopping 36 percent of pancreatic cancer deaths could have been avoidable if it was picked up sooner.
By broadening the repertoire of symptoms, scientists have helped doctors make decisions about who to refer for urgent tests.
This can prove life-saving when a patient has several seemingly non-specific symptoms with no obvious cause.
If the symptoms persist for longer than two weeks, the best course of action would be to seek a professional opinion from your GP.