A rare variant of cancer – the pancreatic cancer – poses the greatest threat to rural folk in Kenya because of its ‘creeping’ characteristics that makes it difficult to diagnose and treat or manage.

However, where detected early, medics say it one of the easiest to manage with a dietary regimen that slows down its spread.

Interviewed as the country observed the World Cancer Day on February 5, a medic wants rural folks in Kenya to prioritise healthy lifestyles to prevent pancreatic cancer, which he describes as a rare form of the disease that is difficult to detect treat.

Pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer that begins as a growth of cells in the pancreas’s which is an organ found behind the lower part of the stomach. The pancreas produces enzymes that digest food as well as insulin that manages blood sugar.

The resident surgeon at AIC Litein Kericho Annex Clinic, Dr Philip Blasto, said pancreatic cancer has no screening tests for early detection and the symptoms are usually noticed when the disease is advanced.

“Pancreatic cancer is a rare cancer and the patients we see, most often come when the disease has advanced. It is not really their fault. The pancreas is located around the lower part of the abdomen close to the back and it is hard for a patient to say they are feeling something so by the time they are feeling something the disease has already advanced. There are no clear symptoms for early disease. There is no screening, as in there is no test that has been shown to be effective for patients with symptoms so this is a challenge to know early enough or marker for early disease. The disease is rare and many medics do not get to see it or even think about it,” said Blasto.   

He expressed concern that, since pancreatic cancer has no standard form of screening, patients are forced to receive treatment for other ailments as the disease progresses to critical vessels in the intestines and surgery to take out the tumour becomes difficult.

“It is not easy to know early enough and there is no marker for early disease. So most patients have been having symptoms for a while and have been treated for other ailments like peptic ulcer, back pain, jaundice and by the time all investigations are done the disease has moved to advanced stages. Once it moves to the intestines where there are vessels, surgery becomes difficult as you cannot take out the tumour without taking out the vessels. The surgery takes long periods of time as it may involve removal of the pancreas or part of the organ and rebuild the digestive system and not all medical facilities are equipped to handle this,” said Blasto. 

The doctor explained that some of the high risk factors include smoking, obesity, having a family history of diabetes adding that some people inherit the gene from their parents that raise their risk of pancreatic cancer.

Blasto said explained the need to recognise early symptoms among them being significant stomach pain that spreads to the sides or back, loss of appetite, weight loss for no known reason, yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes called jaundice, dark coloured urine, feeling very tired and loss of appetite as well as new diagnosis of diabetes or diabetes that is getting hard to control adding these indicators require an early appointment with a health care professional for diagnosis of the disease.

“Pancreatic cancer is often asymptomatic in early stages and almost half of all cases are diagnosed in stage 4 and the pancreatic tumours entangle themselves into surrounding blood vessels and tissue in the intestines making surgical removal difficult as well as the tumours growing around the tissues rendering the chemotherapy drugs hard to penetrate,” explains Blasto.

The medic agitated for a healthy lifestyle composed of no smoking, healthy weight, healthy mind and blood pressure and avoidance of alcohol as there were no active screening of the disease though imaging tests such as MRI as well as abdominal and endoscopic ultrasound scans are used to check if one has the disease and if it has damaged major vessels next to it.

Blasto revealed that the survival rate for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is slim. He gave the example billionaire Steve Jobs who died from the disease at the age of 56, after being diagnosed with the disease in 2003. Pancreas, explains the medic, plays a crucial role in the digestive system of producing insulin and digestive enzymes.

“Pancreatic cancer can be managed when it is discovered early before it spreads. It is a challenging disease that comes with challenging diagnosis. After a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, a patient can follow a course of treatment that will extend their life as long as possible while maintaining the highest quality of life as well,” says Blasto.

According to the World Cancer Research Fund, pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer in the world and it has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers notably breast, lung, colon and prostate.

• A Tell / KNA report / By Sarah Njagi