Pancreatic cancer is formed inside the pancreas, a body organ that
is located behind the stomach. The pancreas is made up of two glands
inside that produce two different kinds of cells exocrine and
endocrine. The names of the two different kinds of tumors that can be
found in patients with pancreatic cancer are adenocarcinomas (exocrine
tumors) and islet cell tumors (endocrine tumors).
Older men
are at the highest risk of getting pancreatic cancer and people of the
African American race are more likely to have this disease than
Caucasian people. These are three different risk factors that there is
no control over. If you are an African American male over the age of
55 and have any of the below risk factors too you should speak to your
doctor about getting screen for pancreatic cancer.
Some of
the risk factors of pancreatic cancer that we do have control over are
our diet, whether or not we smoke and maintaining a healthy body
weight. In order for body weight to be an issue, a person would have
to be considered clinically obese (very overweight). If through your
work you are routinely using or exposed to chemicals such as bug spray,
gasoline, or dyes this could put you at a higher risk of pancreatic
cancer.
Many people with diabetes are at a higher risk of
pancreatic cancer. Diabetes is a disease where the pancreas does not
produce or does not produce enough insulin for the body. There is a
link between the pancreas not creating enough insulin and an increased
risk of pancreatic cancer.
There is an increased risk of 10% of
getting pancreatic cancer if there is a history of the disease in
someone in your family. It is not known for sure what causes
pancreatic cancer but these are some of the risk factors that could
indicate you may be at risk of getting it.