Risk Factors for Getting Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is formed inside the pancreas, a body organ that is located behind the stomach. The pancreas is made up of two glands inside that produce two different kinds of cells exocrine and endocrine. The names of the two different kinds of tumors that can be found in patients with pancreatic cancer are adenocarcinomas (exocrine tumors) and islet cell tumors (endocrine tumors).

Older men are at the highest risk of getting pancreatic cancer and people of the African American race are more likely to have this disease than Caucasian people. These are three different risk factors that there is no control over. If you are an African American male over the age of 55 and have any of the below risk factors too you should speak to your doctor about getting screen for pancreatic cancer.

Some of the risk factors of pancreatic cancer that we do have control over are our diet, whether or not we smoke and maintaining a healthy body weight. In order for body weight to be an issue, a person would have to be considered clinically obese (very overweight). If through your work you are routinely using or exposed to chemicals such as bug spray, gasoline, or dyes this could put you at a higher risk of pancreatic cancer.

Many people with diabetes are at a higher risk of pancreatic cancer. Diabetes is a disease where the pancreas does not produce or does not produce enough insulin for the body. There is a link between the pancreas not creating enough insulin and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

There is an increased risk of 10% of getting pancreatic cancer if there is a history of the disease in someone in your family. It is not known for sure what causes pancreatic cancer but these are some of the risk factors that could indicate you may be at risk of getting it.