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BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PANCREATIC CANCER

Pancreas is very lmportant digestive organ. Pancreatic cancer begins in the  tissues of your pancreas — an organ in your abdomen that lies horizontally behind the lower part of your stomach. Your pancreas releases enzymes that aid digestion and hormones that help manage your blood sugar.


Enzymes, or digestive juices, are secreted by the pancreas into the small intestine. There, it continues breaking down food that has left the stomach. The pancreas also produces the hormone insulin and secretes it into the bloodstream, where it regulates the body's glucose or sugar level.

The pancreas is a mixed gland, having both an endocrine and an exocrine function. As an endocrine gland, it secretes into the blood several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide.

Pancreatic cancer specially spreads rapidly to nearby organs. It is seldom detected in its early stages. But for people with pancreatic cysts or a family history of pancreatic cancer, some screening steps might help detect a problem early. One sign of pancreatic cancer is diabetes, especially when it occurs with weight loss, jaundice or pain in the upper abdomen that spreads to the back.

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