I'm a cancer surgeon - here's why everyone must learn the three subtle signs of lethal pancreatic cancer

Daily Mail​

27-05-2025

A top cancer surgeon has warned of the three subtle early warning signs of pancreatic cancer which are far too often missed.
Dr Ahmed Ezzat, an NHS surgeon urged people to look out for the hidden symptoms of the deadly disease, as data shows four in five patients are diagnosed at late stages, when the prognosis is bleak.
'Pancreatic cancer has some of the poorest outcomes of all cancers,' the surgeon warned in a TikTok video that's so far garnered over 180,900 views.
'Less than 10 per cent of all patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will make it to 10 years after diagnosis. Let's do something about it.'
Dubbed the 'silent killer' due to its subtle symptoms which means the disease, pancreatic cancer kills around 100,000 people in the UK every year.
This is the equivalent to one death every hour, with pancreatic cancer believed to be one of 14 cancers on the rise.
Now, people need to be vigilant and get specific changes to their health investigated by their GP, said Dr Ezzat.
The most subtle sign he shared in the video is a change in blood sugar levels, which can present itself as erratic hunger pangs.
Pancreatic cancer remains one of the least survivable forms of the disease and worryingly its on the rise. Source for data: Cancer Research UK
'A sign that can be quite subtle is developing type 2 diabetes, or if you're a well-controlled diabetic, suddenly noticing a change in your blood sugars becoming poorly controlled,' he explained.
'This is because the pancreas produces insulin, which is responsible for regulating your blood sugar.'
The pancreas is aids digestion and produces hormones, such as insulin and glucagon, which help convert sugar from food into energy.
Pancreatic cancer can inhibit the gland from making enough of these hormones—which can lead to unstable blood sugar levels.
'If you notice this symptom, then you need to make sure you get investigated urgently by your GP', Dr Ezzat warned his 53,900 followers.
Another little-known sign to be aware of is unexplained abdominal pain, or back pain—which the NHS says may feel worse when eating or lying down, and better when you lean forward.
Dr Ezzat said: 'If you notice signs of abdominal aches or back pain then this is really important to get investigated by your GP because this could be a sign of pancreatic cancer.'
According to the NHS, symptoms of indigestion, such as feeling bloated, are also a red flag.
However, not everyone with pancreatic cancer will experience abdominal pain.
The final warning sign to look out for is jaundice, the medic said.
'Jaundice is yellowing in the skin, but can start off most obviously in the whites of the eyes,' the NHS surgeon explained.
There are a lot of possible causes of jaundice—often caused by a build of a yellow substance called bilirubin in the body—including liver disease or cancer.
According to Cancer Research UK, jaundice is more common in people whose cancer develops in the head of pancreas, meaning the tumour blocks the bile duct.
This duct normally carries bile into the small bowel, but when it becomes blocked, the bile leaks into the bloodstream, turning the skin yellow.
However, Dr Ezzat said it is often easier to spot in the whites of the eyes rather than the skin.
Other common symptoms of the deadly cancer include loss of appetite, fatigue, a high temperature, feeling or being sick, and diarrhoea or constipation.
Dr Ezzat'swarning comes as research published earlier this year suggested that more than half of patients diagnosed with the six 'least curable' cancers—including lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, stomach and pancreatic cancers—die within a year of their diagnosis.
More than 90,000 people are diagnosed with one of these deadly cancers in the UK every year, accounting for nearly half of all common cancer deaths, according to Cancer Research UK.
Harry Potter actor Alan Rickman is just one of the many celebrities who has died of pancreatic cancer, just six months after his diagnosis in 2016.
Around 10,500 people are diagnosed with the disease in the UK each year, and more than half of patients will die within three months of diagnosis. Less than even per cent live for five years.
There are currently no early detection tests and approximately 80 per cent of people are not diagnosed until the cancer has spread, meaning life-saving treatment is no longer possible.