Friday 25th September 2020 Are you seeking to improve your suspected cancer referrals? Our Improving the Quality of Your Referral course aims to assist you with this and covers: Clinical decision making Helping to reduce DNAs Key information to include in a referral...
Potential pitfall: Jaundice can be a classic symptom of pancreatic cancer; about half of patients have jaundice when they first go to their GP. Yet, pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose as symptoms can vary or may be late, vague and non-specific. Helpful hint:...
Potential pitfall: Jaundice can be a classic symptom of pancreatic cancer; about half of patients have jaundice when they first go to their GP. Yet, pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose as symptoms can vary or may be late, vague and non-specific. Helpful hint:...
Potential pitfall: Faecal calprotectin testing is an incredibly sensitive investigation for detecting the presence of inflammation. It is raised in a wide variety of conditions including malignancy, inflammatory bowel disease and alcohol misuse. It is therefore not...
Pancreatic cancer diagnoses can be missed due to the non-site specific nature of some early symptoms. However, according to CRUK, up to 70% of patients with pancreatic cancer initially visit the doctor with upper abdominal or back pain.
Pain often presents in the right upper quadrant (RUQ pain). It can begin as general discomfort, such as pressure under the ribs or pain in the abdomen radiating to the back, similar to a pulled muscle or stomach cramps. Patients may note that sitting forward can sometimes relieve the pain but can worsen when lying down or after eating, especially with fatty foods.
In line with NICE guidelines, the presentation of back or abdominal pain in people aged 60 and over combined with weight loss should be considered for an urgent direct access CT scan to assess for pancreatic cancer (to be performed within 2 weeks), or an urgent ultrasound scan if CT is not available.
Download this Cancer Key here.
Access GatewayC’s course on early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer here.