What to do about pancreatic cancer pain?

Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
Updated on September 10, 2024
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Pancreatic cancer pain is common in clinical practice, with some patients presenting with abdominal pain as their initial symptom. Pain management can be symptomatic, using analgesics for relief. For mild pain, tramadol can be chosen for pain relief. For severe pain, opioid analgesics such as morphine sustained-release tablets, oxycodone sustained-release tablets, or morphine tablets can be used for pain relief. These are merely symptomatic treatments. The fundamental approach involves surgical or oncological treatments like chemotherapy or radiotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer. Only when the tumor is controlled will the symptoms of pain be alleviated.

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Written by Yan Chun
Oncology
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What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive system and its incidence has been increasing year by year. The symptoms of pancreatic cancer patients mainly include the following clinically: 1. Abdominal pain, which is a common manifestation in pancreatic cancer patients. It appears as intermittent pain in the early stages and as persistent severe abdominal pain in the middle and late stages. 2. Jaundice, especially common in patients with cancer of the head of the pancreas, tends to appear early. This jaundice is due to the compression of the bile duct by the tumor, often presenting as obstructive jaundice. Patients may also experience dark tea-colored urine and pale clay-colored stools. Additionally, pancreatic cancer patients may also experience symptoms like weight loss, fatigue, fever, and when the cancer metastasizes to other organs, symptoms related to the metastases may appear.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
44sec home-news-image

What to do about pancreatic cancer pain?

Pancreatic cancer pain is common in clinical practice, with some patients presenting with abdominal pain as their initial symptom. Pain management can be symptomatic, using analgesics for relief. For mild pain, tramadol can be chosen for pain relief. For severe pain, opioid analgesics such as morphine sustained-release tablets, oxycodone sustained-release tablets, or morphine tablets can be used for pain relief. These are merely symptomatic treatments. The fundamental approach involves surgical or oncological treatments like chemotherapy or radiotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer. Only when the tumor is controlled will the symptoms of pain be alleviated.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
44sec home-news-image

What should I do if I can't stop vomiting due to pancreatic cancer?

Firstly, we need to ascertain the cause of the vomiting and can provide gastric protection and antiemetic treatment accordingly. If the vomiting is due to biliary obstruction caused by pancreatic cancer, resulting in severe jaundice and intense vomiting, in such cases, we can also place a stent surgically to drain the bile. The jaundice might be relieved afterwards, and accordingly, the vomiting symptoms might also be alleviated. Another aspect is, if the vomiting is caused by the tumor itself due to pancreatic cancer, we need to employ chemotherapy or some targeted or antiangiogenic treatments to control the tumor itself, and only then might the symptoms of vomiting be relieved.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
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How to screen for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive tract. Due to its high malignancy and rapid progression, it severely affects human health. So how should pancreatic cancer patients be screened? Generally, abdominal ultrasound examination is the primary screening method. Another method is the examination of tumor markers, mainly carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA19-9. CA19-9 is a tumor marker with relatively high specificity and sensitivity for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Therefore, during physical examinations, we can draw blood to check these tumor markers. If there is a significant increase in CA19-9 or CEA, further examinations of the pancreas, such as ultrasound or CT of the pancreas, should be conducted to further investigate whether there is a tumor in the pancreas.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
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How is pancreatic cancer diagnosed?

The most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer are pain in the upper abdomen and jaundice. During physical examination, a mass in the upper abdomen can be felt, which is a common symptom. When these symptoms appear, further abdominal ultrasound or CT scans should be performed, as these two are the most commonly used imaging methods for diagnosing pancreatic cancer. Additionally, pancreatic MRI or PET-CT can also help enhance the diagnostic accuracy for pancreatic cancer. MRCP and ERCP are also used to assess the bile ducts and to evaluate the feasibility of surgery. Blood tests for pancreatic cancer-related tumor markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA19-9, are commonly performed, with CA19-9 being particularly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.