In the wake of actor Alan Rickman’s death from pancreatic cancer in January 2016, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network launched an awareness campaign to shed light on the disease, which ranks as the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
With over 53,000 Americans projected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and nearly 42,000 expected to succumb to it, organizations like the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research are advocating for increased awareness and funding.
Four symptoms of pancreatic cancer are:
- Abdominal pain that won’t go away and radiates to your back from your stomach.
- Unintentional weight loss.
- Change in color of eyes or skin (jaundice).
- Change in color of your stool.
Risk factors encompass obesity, chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, smoking, and a family history of breast, prostate, ovarian, or pancreatic cancer. Notably, individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage may have a predisposition to BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, as seen in Angelina Jolie’s case in 2013. Testing for these mutations can potentially link pancreatic cancer patients to advancements in breast and ovarian cancer research.
St. Elizabeth offers genetic counseling at Edgewood and Ft. Thomas.
