Medical Experts Reveal 4 Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer That Show Up on Your Legs

Located deep in the abdomen, between the stomach and the spine, is a tadpole-shaped gland called “pancreas.” Scattered within this gland are thousands of tiny islands that are made of arabesques of endocrine tissues that release enzymes for managing digestion and regulating hormones that control blood sugar levels. However, sometimes due to changes in DNA, the cells in this gland start multiplying at abnormal rates, often leading to the formation of a malignant tumor called “pancreatic cancer.”  Although it doesn’t reveal any visible symptoms, some subtle signs on the legs can diagnose the disease early on.

Pancreatic cancer is “the most lethal cancer in the body,” Doctor Santhi Swaroop Vege, director of the pancreatic diseases group at Mayo Clinic told the Express. In 2022 alone, over 510,992 people got crippled by this aggressive disease, not to mention the story of Steve Jobs whose immense fortune and whetted brain couldn’t forestall his inevitable end. “I didn't even know what a pancreas was,” he said in his infamous Stanford commencement speech.

Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer that started robbing his body of the proteins it needed to function properly. His health became a topic of public interest when he appeared gaunt and extra thin in an Apple meeting. Most people, however, aren’t even aware that cancer may be growing inside them. The Express reveals four noticeable signs that appear on a person’s legs that indicate that they have pancreatic cancer.

A blood clot in a leg is one of the first major signs that warn that a person may be suffering from pancreatic cancer. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and warmth in the affected leg. Sometimes, a piece of the clot can break off and travel to the lungs, causing chest pain and difficulty in breathing. “This is called a deep vein thrombosis,” according to Cancer Society. However, a blood clot in itself is not the surest sign of this cancer.

Another symptom that pancreatic cancer reveals is abdominal pain and weight loss. “That’s one of the biggest problems we face. Usually, these people will have indigestion, and acid reflux, before finally somebody thinks of a CT scan," explained Doctor Vege. Cancer Society describes that abdominal pain is usually accompanied by back pain that extends to the legs, but these symptoms are most often caused by conditions other than pancreatic cancer.

The third sign relates to an unusual mole on the skin. If there is a mole on your leg that changes shape, looks uneven, changes color gets darker, or has more than two colors; if it starts itching, crusting, flaking, bleeding, or gets larger or more raised from the skin, that’s a sign that you could be suffering from pancreatic cancer. Although, like other symptoms, such a mole is not always a result of cancer and could be caused by something else. Additionally, rapid weight loss, one that is triggered by weakness and muscle loss, could be a symptom of the underlying disease. “Unintended weight loss is very common in people with pancreatic cancer. These people often have little or no appetite,” explains the Cancer Society.