Understanding your risk
Like other cancers, your risk depends on many variables including:
- Family history
- Lifestyle behaviors (e.g. smoking and tobacco use)
- General health
- Obesity and diets high in fat
- Exposure to harsh chemicals
- Chronic inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Diabetes
- Age (most people are diagnosed after age 65)
Optum offers comprehensive cancer risk assessments and hereditary cancer genetics evaluation programs to help you identify your risk. Start our online hereditary assessment now ›
Symptoms
Pancreatic, bile duct and gallbladder cancer are difficult to detect early because the symptoms are not obvious to recognize. The most common symptoms of each include:
- Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
- Upper abdominal pain with or without fever
- Weight loss
- Nausea/vomiting
- Skin itching
- New onset or sudden worsening of diabetes
Diagnosis
If you have specific signs and symptoms that lead to pancreatic, bile duct or gallbladder cancer, a series of tests and exams will be done to find the actual cause, starting with diagnostic imaging such as:
- Image-guided biopsy
- Endoscopic ultrasound
- Computed tomography (CT) scan
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
If the findings suggest the likelihood of cancer, more tests may be ordered to determine the severity.
Treatment
Treatment is tailored to the specific characteristics of each patient and each tumor. The most common treatments include:
- Chemotherapy: chemicals administered in pill or IV form to kill and slow the growth of cancer cells
- Radiation therapy: high-powered beams of energy, such as x-rays and protons, that are used to kill and slow the growth of cancer cells
- Targeted and immunotherapy: drugs that attack specific abnormalities within cancer cells or by directing your immune system to kill cancer cells
- Surgery: to remove the tumor or affected area
Learn more about Optum’s minimally-invasive robotic assisted surgery options ›
Medical care and help
To find a pancreas, bile ducts and gallbladder cancer specialist near you, visit our Providers page.
Contact us if you have any questions.