Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Week – 1 – 30 November 2025

Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer. Half of people with the disease die within three months of diagnosis. With research underfunded and left behind, people are left with only hope to hold onto.  

What are the signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer?

• Indigestion which is a painful, burning feeling in your chest, upper tummy or throat.
• Tummy pain or back pain are common symptoms. The pain may start as discomfort in the upper tummy and spread to the back.
• Changes to poo, including diarrhoea (runny poo), constipation (when you find it harder to poo) and pale, oily, smelly poo that’s hard to flush (steatorrhoea).
• Unexplained weight loss – losing a lot of weight without meaning to.
• Jaundice, which causes yellow skin and eyes, dark pee, pale poo and itchy skin.
• Losing your appetite.
• Recently diagnosed diabetes, which is a condition where the amount of sugar in the blood (blood sugar level) is too high.
• Problems digesting your food, which causes bloating, lots of wind, burping, and feeling full up quickly.
• Feeling or being sick (nausea and vomiting).
• Blood clots in a vein (deep vein thrombosis or DVT).
• Fatigue, which is feeling very tired all the time, even if you rest.
• Less common symptoms of pancreatic cancer include fever, shivering, and generally feeling unwell, and depression or anxiety without any obvious cause.