Pancreatic Cancer

Knowing Your Risk Factors

One thing is clear, early recognition can lead to earlier diagnosis.  It is so important to know your risk factors, whether you can change them or not so that you can get checked out by your doctor if you have any symptoms.  Some risk factors even allow us to monitor patients to notice any trouble before symptoms may occur.  The Erlanger Pancreatic Cyst Surveillance Program, conducted with the advanced Gastroenterology department, can monitor precancerous cysts. For patients with family or personal history of other cancers that may increase risk of pancreatic cancer, the Erlanger High Risk Genetics Program offers counseling, testing, and recommendation of tests to watch out for arising problems. 

Resources for Accurate Diagnosis 

Symptoms of pancreatic cancer can be absent or vague at first, so any symptoms should be brought to the attention of your doctor.  When symptoms or testing question the possibility of pancreatic disease, advanced gastroenterology is often the next step toward diagnosis.  Relief of certain symptoms, like itching or jaundice, are commonly managed by the gastroenterology team.  Advanced gastroenterology has options for the relief of pancreatic pain.  The gastroenterology team also offers pancreatitis treatment and ensures pancreatic cancer is not the cause.  From Erlanger Radiology providing state-of-the-art pancreatic imaging to the region’s most contemporary trained advanced GI specialist and our robust interventional radiology team, diagnostic and early interventions lead to a plan for therapeutic options.