1. Unexplained Stomach Pain and/or Cramps

Any stomach pain that is not explained must be investigated promptly. Lizzy felt unexplained stomach pain off and on for years. Her pains would appear for a few days, then go away. If you are having unexplained stomach pains, keep a log and make an appointment to see your doctor. In the later stages of the cancer, the stomach pain can remain without pausing and sometimes feel like cramping. Cramping may be due to blood clots in the stomach due to the cancer. Right before her diagnosis, Lizzy felt the stomach pain radiate to her mid-back, causing…

2. Unexplained Back Pain

Lizzy had just moved to Georgia in August of 2018 when her back pain really started to bother her. Previously, she complained of back pain occasionally but didn’t think it was anything serious. In 2018, she believed she had strained her back while lifting heavy furniture. I recall on our drive across the U.S.A., she couldn’t drive because her back hurt. Once she reached Georgia, she complained of back pain and her doctors prescribed her pain medication, which did not work. The back pain was mid-back, in the rib area. She described the pain as if someone was squeezing her very hard. After only two months, the pain became excruciating.

3. Unplanned Weight Loss

Loss of appetite or feeling full, faster than normal causes you to lose weight. When Lizzy moved to Georgia, we went out to eat Indian food. She took four bites of her food and said she was full. I still wanted to eat a lot more. This was a sign of a problem in her pancreas and bile duct.

4. Feeling Constipated

At least two years before her diagnosis, Lizzy complained of changes in her bowel habits. It was a constant topic of conversation. She stated she felt constipated, yet was still able to have a small bowel movement, several times a day. She spent a lot of time in the restroom. If you feel constipated all of the time, yet are still able to have several small bowel movements per day, this is a sign.

5. Poop Floats and Appears to be “Oily”

Your stools were meant to sink in toilet water. If you observe that your poop is now floating in the toilet and is surrounded by “oil rings,” you may have pancreatic cancer. Report this to your doctor immediately.

6. Dark Green Poop

If you have pancreatic cancer, your stools (poop) color will change from common brown to a dark green. Do not ignore this. Green stools are a sign from your bile duct that something is very wrong. Have your doctor check for cancer.

7. GERD/Acid Reflux/Silent Acid Reflux

GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease is, what happens when acid reflux occurs repeatedly over time. The acid irritates the esophagus and it can be very painful. Most doctors will prescribe medication to help with the acid, but not check for cancer. If you suspect cancer, tell your doctor to order specific tests. Lizzy’s GERD stemmed from the tumor growing in her pancreas.

8. Diagnosis of Pre-Diabetes

A “pre-diabetes” diagnosis can be a symptom of pancreatic cancer. Your doctor will order a basic blood panel and then tell you that you are pre-diabetic. Lizzy’s bloodwork always came back normal except that she showed as being pre-diabetic. This baffled us because overall, Lizzy was a healthy eater and limited her sugar intake. The pre- diagnosis was a sign that her pancreas was under attack. If you get diagnosed with pre-diabetes, think about the other symptoms here and if you have any, get tested for cancer.

9. Itchy Skin

You may suddenly feel itchy for no apparent reason, even without a rash or redness. My sister did not have this symptom, but I felt I should share it because it is due to the bile duct not functioning correctly. Some people with early-onset of pancreatic cancer do notice this symptom. Note that her bile numbers were normal in all of her bloodwork until she was diagnosed.

10. Rashes or changes in skin pigmentation

The appearance of red or rashy skin is a symptom that I didn’t observe with my sister. Pay attention to your symptoms and don’t write them off as “nothing.” This sign, along with two or three others should have you wondering if it’s cancer. Lizzy stayed out of the sun because she would get blotches on her face if exposed. I don’t know if this is relatd to “changes in skin pigmentation,” but it just occurred to me that she complained of blotches.

11. Loss of Sleep

Lizzy struggled with sleep for two years before her diagnosis. She stated that she woke up “twitching” and could not get back to sleep. Just before her diagnosis, Lizzy said that the pain was so bad that she was unable to sleep. She told me she wasn’t getting 3 hours of sleep per night.

12. Unexplained Muscle Loss or Weakness

Although Lizzy never complained of this, looking back, I can recall that I had thought several times that either I was a lot stronger than her, or that she had become inexplicably weaker over a 2-3 year period. I observed that it took her longer to walk up a hill than it should have on our trip to Austria in 2015. Her muscle mass had diminished. She even complained that she twisted her knee on the walk up the hill at Schonbrunn. I thought this was odd, since it wasn’t a terrible hill. Do not ignore unexplained loss of muscle mass.

13. Overall body discomfort or “malaise”

Lizzy definitely had this symptom. For the 3-4 years before her diagnosis, she never seemed to feel good for longer than a week. On our trip to Scotland in 2017, I noticed that her eye sockets looked hollowed out (this was right after the CT scan where they missed the cancer). I was always asking her if she had gone to the doctor and, “What did they say?” They said nothing. She complained of specific signs and symptoms and was repeatedly ignored.

14. Different Size Legs

I can’t say for certain if this is a sign, but I can’t ignore it either. Blood clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) may also be an EARLY sign of pancreatic cancer when coupled with other symptoms.

About two years before her diagnosis, when I was living with her, Lizzy was trying on clothing. We both observed that one of her legs was someone larger than the other. It looked swollen a bit, but we didn’t think anything of it. Looking back, I wish we had known it could mean cancer.

15. Nausea or Vomiting

I don’t know for sure how much nausea my sister felt in the early stages, so this may or may not be an early symptom. I believe that for her, the nausea and vomiting was a result of her stomach and back pain from the cancer. Right before being diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, she was in so much pain, she could no longer drive to work. When she felt good enough to go to work, she spent the day slumped over her desk, nauseous. She asked to work from home but was not able to due to the nausea and stomach pain she was feeling. It is not normal to spend your life nauseous or vomiting. Seek medical attention immediately for unexplained nausea/vomiting.

16. Yellowing of Eyes (Jaundice)

I am told this is a common occurrence in pancreatic cancer victims. However, Lizzy did not experience this until after the first bile stint had failed. Usually, when a person becomes jaundiced, pancreatic cancer is already in the late stages.

17. Acites or Blood Clots

We never knew that Lizzy had blood clots in her stomach until her doctor called her to tell her she had pancreatic cancer and to go directly to the nearest emergency room. You can watch the video of SassE complaining about cramps in her last video, which is linked, here.

18. Feeling a Tumor Move

In June of 2017 (after our Scotland trip), Lizzy texted me to tell me that she had “felt a tumor move” in her stomach. I nearly fainted. Could this be true? If it was a tumor, was it cancer? I told her to see the doctor the next day. She did. The doctor told her that it was “just her sternum” and that nothing was wrong. Please, please, please do not let a doctor write you off as healthy when you know you felt something that doesn’t belong there.