The pancreas plays a fundamental role in the body. It is the gland that is deep in the abdomen, between the stomach and the spine, which excretes the digestive enzymes that break down food and help absorb nutrients. It also helps control the level of sugar in the body creating insulin, glucagon and other hormones. Since the pancreas helps regulate so many areas of the body, it is important to prevent pancreatic cancer as much as possible in order to stay healthy. That is why; we will give you some tips to prevent pancreas cancer.
3 Method to prevent pancreas cancer are given here:
- Prevent pancreatic cancer
- Detect pancreatic cancer
- Identify pancreatic cancer
Method 1: Prevent pancreatic cancer
- Stop smoking to prevent pancreas cancer:
The best ways to prevent pancreatic cancer is by reducing the risk factors over which you have control. One of these risk factors is smoking. Smokers are twice as likely to develop pancreatic cancer as non-smokers. Research indicates that this is due to the cancerous elements of the cigarettes that are filtered by the blood, which damages the pancreas. Stop smoking to decrease your risk of pancreatic cancer. If you do not smoke, you should not start doing it. However the idea smart vapes to use to change the habit of smoking.
- Lose weight to prevent pancreas cancer:
One of the risk factors for pancreatic cancer is obesity. You can start losing weight with exercises and a healthy eating plan. Ask your doctor about an exercise plan and a menu that works for your particular situation.
- Reduce your consumption of processed foods to prevent pancreas cancer:
Many people eat processed foods every day. It is not good for health because the producers and processors of food add many additives, preservatives, sugars and packaged foods. Since they contain added sugars, eating too many processed foods, especially sweets, can cause obesity and diabetes.
Since diabetes causes problems with the pancreas, you are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer if you have problems with your blood sugar.
- Cook fruits as natural and fresh as possible to prevent pancreas cancer:
Buy as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible. When preparing meals with these foods, try to get as close as possible to their original condition. Reduce your intake of processed or prepared foods and
try to start from scratch as much as possible. It’s okay to use frozen vegetables and they could actually be more nutritious in some cases since the vegetable freeze shortly after picking up.
If you do not have time to prepare meals every night, try cooking steamed vegetables in the microwave oven. It is fast and will reduce the loss of nutrients while cooking.
Also, try to use a clay pot, which will allow you to cook in less time at night. You can also prepare dishes in advance and store them in the fridge some days.
You can also freeze the fresh vegetables that you have already cut and prepared so that you only have to heat them to eat them.
Avoid pre-prepared frozen foods and garnishes with plenty of additives, such as fats, sugars, and calories.
- Eat complex carbohydrates to prevent pancreas cancer:
The carbohydrates you eat daily, which are found in bread, cereals, and pasta, should be made up of 90 to 95% complex carbohydrates. They are unprocessed carbohydrates that have not been removed their inherent nutrients, such as whole foods, peas, lentils, beans, and vegetables with starch.
So that you know how to distinguish complex carbohydrates from simple ones, the first ones are the ones you should not eat and that include white foods, such as white bread, white pasta, and white rice.
You should avoid white sugars, which can be found in most cakes, cookies, candies and other desserts.
- Eat more fibers to prevent pancreas cancer:
For a complete diet, you should consume more fibers every day. Some good sources of fiber are whole foods, fruits, vegetables and flax seeds.
Do not remove the skin of fruits and vegetables to consume as many fibers as possible.
You can also add a tablespoon of flax seeds to yogurt, cereal or meals.
- Limit your intake of red meat to prevent pancreas cancer:
Excessive consumption of red meat is associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, especially in men. Limit red meats in your diet and only eat them once or twice a week. Instead of red meat, eat more fish and poultry without skin.
If you run a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer due to family history, you may want to limit it to once every two or three weeks or eliminate it completely from your diet.
You should always eat poultry without skin because this contains high levels of fat.
Eat more fish rich in nutrients, such as cod, salmon, tuna, and haddock. These foods have omega 3 fatty acids, which are essential for health.
- Limit your intake of processed meats to prevent pancreas cancer:
It has been shown that processed meats increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Processed meats are meats that have changed to extend their shelf life, such as smoking, curing or adding too many salts or preservatives. To reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer, limit or eliminate processed meats from your diets, such as sausages, bacon, hot dogs, salami, jerky, and ham.
If you want to eat this type of food, choose completely natural, uncured meats and no preservatives such as nitrates.
- Decrease your consumption of alcoholic beverages to prevent pancreas cancer:
Cirrhosis is related to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Since cirrhosis can be caused by alcoholism, you should limit your intake of alcoholic beverages per day. Dietary guidelines indicate that you should drink a daily drink at most if you are a woman and two drinks a day at most if you are a man.
However, this does not mean you should take them daily. Therefore, limit your weekly consumption to avoid damage to the liver and pancreas.
Method 2: Detect pancreatic cancer
- Get a physical exam to detect pancreatic cancer:
When you go to a checkup, the doctor will do a physical exam if you have a family history of pancreatic cancer or if you have symptoms that you cannot explain. It will check to see if you have symptoms of pancreatic cancer, such as tiredness, pain, changes in appetite and weight loss. Look for other physical symptoms, such as masses or fluid accumulation in the abdominal area, which could be caused by the inflamed gallbladder or liver, which can be caused by pancreatic cancer.
You will also see the white part of the eyes and your skin to see if you have jaundice, which is the yellowing of these areas due to the toxins.
You could also check around your clavicle or around the neck area to see if you have swollen lymph nodes, which is where pancreatic cancer is likely to spread.
If you notice any physical symptoms, it is likely that you will do more tests in order to confirm the cause.
- Get blood drawn to detect pancreatic cancer:
If the doctor is not sure of the cause of your symptoms, you could get some blood to check your levels. It will check your blood to see if you have the right liver chemicals, to show signs of tumor and to measure pancreatic hormones.
Blood tests will also help rule out other causes of your symptoms.
- Get an abdominal ultrasound to detect pancreatic cancer:
If the doctor is not sure of the cause of abdominal pain or if you want a less expensive test first, you may have an abdominal ultrasound to see if your pain is caused by pancreatic cancer. An abdominal ultrasound uses a rod-shaped probe along the abdomen to emit sound waves, which bounce off your organs to create an image.
The doctor will be able to detect any type of tumor that could be found in your pancreas.
This is a more accurate test to detect pancreatic cancer. For this test, the doctor will sedate you. Then, you will put an endoscope with an ultrasound probe at the end of your nose or mouth, through the esophagus and stomach, in the upper area of the small intestine.
This test is better than a CT scan in finding small tumors in the pancreas. If a tumor is found, a biopsy can be performed at the same time by inserting a needle through the endoscope.
- Get a CT scan to detect pancreatic cancer:
CT scans, which are transverse X-rays, will show a detailed picture of the pancreas and surrounding organs. It will help you show if your pancreas is cancerous and if cancer has spread to other parts of your body.
It will also help you determine if surgery is your best option.
Method 3: Identify pancreatic cancer
- Pay attention to the first symptoms to identify pancreatic cancer:
Pancreatic cancer usually takes a long time to cause symptoms. You may feel blessed to have digestive problems that may lead to early detection so they can operate on the first stage. Once cancer begins to develop, you may have some common symptoms, many of which may be not excreting enough bile and other digestive fluids in the intestines.
Among these symptoms are:
- Yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes.
- Stool light, gray or white.
- Stinky, oily stools that float in the toilet.
- Orange or brown urine.
- Fatigue or fatigue with an unknown cause.
- Pain in the abdomen or the middle part of the back.
- Abdominal distension, constant diarrhea.
- Vomiting, nausea or chronic indigestion.
- Rapid changes in blood sugar levels.
- Sudden onset of diabetes.
- Loss of appetite.
- Weight loss.
- Blood clots.
- Look for the risk factors to detect pancreatic cancer:
There are certain factors that make you more at risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Among these factors are:
Be over 50 years old.
Smoke.
A history of chronic pancreatitis or chronic inflammation of the pancreas.
The family history of this cancer, especially in close relatives, as well as breast, ovarian and prostate cancer.
Obesity, bad eating habits.
Alcoholism or a history of alcoholism.
Environmental exposure to pesticides, dyes and chemicals.
- Go to the doctor to detect pancreatic cancer:
If you notice any symptoms of pancreatic cancer, you should see the doctor. Many of these symptoms could also be a sign of another health problem. Therefore, talk to your doctor about the meaning of your symptoms. You should also see your doctor if you are at higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer to make sure you are healthy.
Any preventive measure will not guarantee that you do not develop pancreatic cancer. It will only help you decrease your chances of developing this cancer.
We hope you will like these tips to prevent pancreatic cancer. We want your suggestions and comments to improve our ideas. Thank you and have a great day!