Cancer is a notoriously deadly disease as it’s driven by the spread of cells that can easily evade treatment. Of all the cancers, Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate. Campaigners have made leaps and bounds to raise public awareness of the symptoms, yet many still succumb to the disease.
Some of the most telling signs show up in a person’s stool, because when a pancreatic duct becomes blocked by a tumour there are insufficient pancreatic juices in the intestines.
This can allow undigested food to quickly pass through the digestive tract or produce stool of a high-fat consistency.
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network explains: “Most pancreatic cancer patients experience diarrhoea, constipation or both.
“Diarrhoea consisting of loose, watery, oily or foul-smelling stools can be caused by insufficient amounts of pancreatic enzymes in the intestines.
“This leads to malabsorption as undigested food passes quickly through the digestive tract. Constipation is also a common problem, particularly among patients taking pain medications.”
It’s important to note that if the digestive system works too slowly, the stool may in fact become dry, hard and difficult to pass.
Aside from the pale appearance of stool, Pancreatic Cancer UK Organisation says it may “smell horrible” and be hard to flush down the toilet.
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The foul smell stems from the fatty element of steatorrhoea, which produces a distinctive smell of volatile organic compounds.
These chemicals, which contain carbon and are found in all living things, can help doctors detect pancreatic cancer at an earlier stage.
In 2021, a study suggested that there were some additional symptoms related to pancreatic cancer that had not previously been recognised.
These included dark urine and thirst, among 21 other signs that can show up a year before the disease is diagnosed.
Scientists said the signs could help doctors achieve an accurate and early diagnosis.
Doctor Weir Liao, data scientist at the University of Oxford, stressed the importance of an early diagnosis for pancreatic cancer.
“It is possible to diagnose patients when they visit their GP, but both patients and GPs need to be aware of the symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer,” he noted.
By broadening the repertoire of symptoms, scientists have helped doctors make decisions about who to refer for urgent tests.
This can prove life-saving when a patient has several seemingly non-specific symptoms with no obvious cause.
Though dark urine is now recognised as a sign of the disease, it’s important to note that foul-smelling urine is not.
It is generally a sign of other conditions, including urinary tract infections or sexually transmitted diseases.
If the symptoms persist for longer than two weeks, the best course of action would be to seek a professional opinion from your GP.
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