Elvis Govic had never heard of pancreatic cancer before he was diagnosed with it. The disease is increasing in prevalence, and the prognosis is often grim.
“You’re not even aware that you’ve got it ... and if it goes too far, there’s no chance of surviving it.”Credit:The painter, business owner and football coach first developed worrying symptoms in 2020.
When they do emerge, symptoms can include weight loss, pain in the back and abdomen, fatigue, dark urine and yellow skin and eyes.Just 12.5 per cent of Australians with the disease survive past five years, an increase from about 5 per cent in 2003 to 2007, but it is still the lowest survival rate for a cancer type in this country bar mesothelioma, an aggressive tissue cancer that attacks multiple organs.
It vaulted from being the sixth-leading cause of cancer death in Australia to the third between 2001 and 2021. It now takes about 3400 Australian lives each year, behind bowel cancer and lung cancer.The increase in cases can be partly put down to Australia’s ageing population. Pancreatic cancer is more common as people get older. However, age-adjusted rates of the disease have also been on the rise since 2002, meaning other factors are at play.
“There is significant work to do before we can implement any population-based screening tests, but we are hoping we can leapfrog ahead using the learnings gained from other cancers.”
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