MADURAI: Senior doctors of Meenakshi Super Speciality Hospital in Madurai today gave an important alert to the people about the rising number of pancreatic cancer cases in India with a particular message that smoking and alcohol are significant risk factors while jaundice patients should be much more careful to go for proper scanning test at right time.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) is observing this November as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. There is a striking increase of pancreatic cancer cases in India and it should be borne in mind that pancreatic cancer is the 4th most common cancer in the US. It is not a good cancer, survival rate is low because the awareness is less. Why it is difficult to treat is because less than 20 per cent of patients come at right time for treatment. The rest go to the doctor when it is too late. In India there is a silver lining because we have more of ampullary cancer cases and survival rate is high if right time right attention is there,” Dr.Ramesh Ardhanari, Medical Director, Meenakshi Super Speciality Hospital, told reporters at a special press conference here on November 28th 2024.
Dr.Krishna Kumar Rathnam, senior consultant and Head of Department of Medical Oncology, has said that the common symptoms are unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain and jaundice. “New onset diabetes… we must be alert and a timely intervention can cure. Jaundice with itching is a symptom, and so people should be aware of pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately people come to us at an advanced stage,” he added and pointed out that patients mostly come to the hospital at stage 4.
Dr.Alagammai, senior consultant, Department of Surgery and Surgical Gastroenterology, had advised that a simple scan is enough to see if a jaundice patient is having pancreatic cancer but unfortunately most of the patients come late to the hospital after going to various local treatments for jaundice.
The common caution from the doctors of Meenakshi Super Speciality Hospital in Madurai today was that smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, dietary shifts to western style and increased consumption of processed foods are the high risk factors causing pancreatic cancer which often remains asymptomatic until it progresses significantly.
