Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who had been suffering from pancreatic cancer for over a year, died on Sunday. He was 63.

The 63-year-old politician, who was in his fourth term of office, had been diagnosed with an advanced stage of pancreatic cancer last February. He had been traveling between hospitals in and out of the country all through the year for treatment and briefly rejoined office for work.

So what is pancreatic cancer? It is believed that 3-5% of people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive often live longer than 5 years. Pancreatic cancer is a disease that occurs when cancerous cells are formed in the tissues of the pancreas. The pancreas is a gland located in front of the spine and behind the stomach.

Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas — an organ in your abdomen that lies horizontally behind the lower part of your stomach. Your pancreas releases enzymes that aid digestion and hormones that help manage your blood sugar.

Pancreatic cancer typically spreads rapidly to nearby organs.

Symptoms
Pain in the upper abdomen that radiates to your back
Loss of appetite or unintended weight loss
Depression
New-onset diabetes
Blood clots
Fatigue
Yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes

How is it treated?
The first course of treatment is detection. Early the detection and testing, higher are the odds of survival. Once the patient exhibits symptoms of cancer, doctors and specialists usually order tests such as MRI scans and a Biopsy to study the cancer spread. Depending on the results and seeing how far the cancerous cells have spread, ideal treatment course is advised. Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery to remove the malignant part from the body is usually prescribed.