Many people - especially during the pandemic - don't want to bother their GP with what they consider to be 'mild' issues.
However, whilst some health symptoms can appear to be 'normal' such as with age, it's always worth getting things checked out anyway - especially if it's appeared out of nowhere.
As reported by the Express, recent finding have said that up to 70% of cancer patients were unaware of having an increased risk of blood clots. What's more, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is sometimes the first clue of pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously difficult to treat.
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The discovery emerged from the results of a survey carried out by the European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC), which assessed patient awareness and knowledge about cancer-associated DVT.
Cancer - a disease of the cells and organs that is fast-spreading by nature - is best to catch as early as possible in order for the person to get the best outcome.
Despite this, some cancers, including pancreatic, can be difficult to pick up at the early stages due to its location deep inside the body.
However there are four clues in the legs could be among the first signs of the disease, according to health bodies, and people should be keeping an eye out for them and seeking help if they experience any.
So what should you be looking out for?
Six symptoms that could indicate pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer has a unique ability to induce blood into a hyper-coagulative state. In other words, the blood of patients with pancreatic cancer has an abnormal tendency to coagulate, which confers a higher risk of blood clotting.
Therefore, a clot in the leg is sometimes among the first clues that someone has pancreatic cancer, according to the Cancer Society who explain that this is called deep vein thrombosis..
Symptoms in the affected leg can include:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Redness
- Warmth
Another symptom to look out for that's not leg related is breathing as sometimes a piece of the clot can break off and travel to the lungs which could make it harder to breathe or cause chest pain.
A blood clot that travels to the lungs is medically known as pulmonary embolism or PE, which carries a high mortality risk.
Even if you do have a blood clot, The Cancer Society adds: “Having a blood clot does not usually mean that you have cancer. Most blood clots are caused by other things."
But aside from the fact that the condition is hard to pick up early, pancreatic cancer is also notoriously difficult to treat also making it the most lethal cancer in the body, according to Doctor Santhi Swaroop Vege, director of the pancreatic diseases group at Mayo Clinic.
In fact, the disease has an overall five-year survival rate of about seven per cent despite the marked medical advances effectuated in recent years.
The disease is typically characterised by non-specific symptoms such as weight loss and abdominal pain making early detection difficult.
The location of the pancreas in the body also makes it difficult to biopsy or image with the condition tending to be discovered at advanced stages when abdominal pain or jaundice has resulted.
Doctor Vege told News Network: “That’s one of the biggest problems we face. Usually, these people will have indigestion, and acid reflux, before finally somebody thinks of a CT scan."
