Makindo Medical Notes"One small step for man, one large step for Makindo" |
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Related Subjects:
|Neutropenic Sepsis
|Oncological emergencies
|Spinal Cord Compression
|Brain Tumours
|Cancer of Unknown Primary
|Head and Neck Cancers
|Colorectal cancer
|Colorectal polyps
|Cancer Frequency and Red flags
|Pancreatic Cancer
💡 Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to diagnose early due to its deep location and vague symptoms.
🚨 A normal ultrasound (USS) does not exclude pancreatic cancer.
⚠️ Periampullary lesions may present earlier with obstructive jaundice.
🌟 Summary:
Pancreatic cancer is often advanced at diagnosis.
👉 Think: unexplained weight loss, painless jaundice, new diabetes, recurrent “idiopathic” pancreatitis.
📌 CT pancreas is key for diagnosis & staging.
🚫 USS cannot rule it out.
🩺 Whipple’s is potentially curative, but most require palliation.
📖 About
⚠️ Risk Factors
🧬 Genetic Associations (minority of cases)
🔬 Pathology
🧫 Histology
🩺 Clinical Presentation
📌 Head vs Body/Tail Tumours
Location Typical Presentation
Head / Periampullary Painless jaundice, Courvoisier’s sign, pruritus, early diagnosis more likely.
Body / Tail Late presentation, epigastric/back pain, weight loss, diabetes, often advanced at diagnosis.
🔎 Investigations
⚡ Complications
💊 Management