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Pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious and fastest-growing cancers in the world. It’s often called a “silent killer” because it develops quietly, and by the time it’s found, it’s usually advanced.

Pancreatic cancer doesn’t care who you are. No one is exempt.

Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computer, was one of the most brilliant and successful innovators in history. In 2003, at just 50 years old, Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer known as a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. Despite his wealth, access to the best doctors, and his determination to fight it, he passed away eight years later at age 56.

His story is a powerful reminder that money, success, and technology can’t protect us from what’s happening inside our own cells. And I can almost guarantee that what you’ll learn in this article, about inflammation, insulin resistance, and cellular health, is something he likely never knew.

Sadly, Steve Jobs is not alone. This rise has touched every community. We’ve seen well-known figures like Patrick Swayze, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Luciano Pavarotti, and Alex Trebek all face pancreatic cancer. Their courage brought awareness to a disease that too often goes unnoticed until it’s too late.

These stories remind us of one important truth: pancreatic cancer doesn’t discriminate, and prevention through knowledge and nutrition is our best defense.

While genetics play a role, the real drivers behind most cancers, including pancreatic cancer, are chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, and poor nutrition. The good news is that these are things you can change.

The Rise of Pancreatic Cancer

In recent years, pancreatic cancer has been increasing around the world.

• • According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), new cases in the U.S. have increased by almost 1% annually over the last decade.
  • A 2025 global review found that the burden of pancreatic cancer has more than doubled in recent decades.
  • What’s more surprising is that cases are increasing among younger adults, especially women.

That’s why awareness, prevention, and nutritional education are more important than ever.

Did You Know?

• • Pancreatic cancer cases have more than doubled worldwide in recent decades.
  • In the United States, new cases are rising by nearly 1% each year.
  • The increase is sharpest among younger adults and women.
  • Chronic inflammation and insulin resistance are key drivers behind the rise.
  • Most people have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio above 20:1, when it should be closer to 3:1, which can fuel inflammation.
  • Enhancing cell membrane fluidity facilitates cellular communication, waste removal, and disease protection.
  • The DO-HEALTH clinical trial found that combining omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and exercise reduced the risk of cancer by 61%.
  • BalanceOil+ supports your body’s natural ability to stay in an anti-inflammatory state by combining omega-3s and polyphenols for optimal absorption and protection.

What the Pancreas Does

Your pancreas sits behind your stomach and plays two big roles in your health:

1. 1. It produces digestive enzymes that aid in breaking down food.
   2. It produces insulin, the hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels.

When the pancreas becomes inflamed or overworked, often because of diet, lifestyle, or insulin resistance, it creates the perfect storm for disease, including cancer.

Why Pancreatic Cancer Is Hard to Detect

Pancreatic cancer grows silently. Most people don’t have symptoms until it has already spread.

When symptoms do appear, they can include:

• • Pain in the upper abdomen or back
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Fatigue or weakness
  • Loss of appetite
  • Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)

Because these signs are often mistaken for other conditions, early detection is challenging; therefore, prevention is crucial.

What Causes Pancreatic Cancer?

There isn’t one single cause of pancreatic cancer, but researchers agree that it develops when inflammation, metabolic stress, and environmental factors damage pancreatic cells over time.

1. Chronic Inflammation

Long-term inflammation, called chronic pancreatitis, increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.

• • Inflammation can damage DNA and make cells grow abnormally.
  • Diets high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in omega-3 fatty acids and polyphenols can worsen inflammation.
  • Conditions like obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes add to the stress.

When the body stays inflamed for years, pancreatic cells can weaken and mutate.

2. Metabolic and Hormonal Stress

Pancreatic cancer is strongly linked to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

• • The pancreas overproduces insulin when cells fail to respond properly.
  • High insulin and high blood sugar fuel the growth of abnormal cells.
  • Hormones like insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) can also promote tumor growth.

This helps explain why pancreatic cancer is more common in people with obesity or diabetes, and why balancing blood sugar and omega-3 levels is essential for prevention.

3. Environmental and Lifestyle Factors

Research shows that lifestyle plays a big role. Risk increases with:

• • Smoking (responsible for about 25% of cases)
  • Heavy alcohol use
  • Diets low in fiber and high in processed foods
  • Lack of exercise
  • Vitamin D deficiency
  • Exposure to chemicals like pesticides or dyes

4. Genetics

About 10% of cases are hereditary.
Mutations in genes such as BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2 can increase the risk.
But for most people, cancer develops from years of inflammation, poor nutrition, and environmental exposure, not from inherited genes.

5. Who It Affects

Pancreatic cancer affects both men and women, but slightly more men are diagnosed.

• • It typically occurs in individuals over the age of 60, with most cases being diagnosed around age 70.
  • It’s rare in people under 40, and extremely rare in children.
  • However, studies show rising cases among younger adults (under 55), especially women, likely due to diet, stress, and inflammation.

Understanding the Omega-6 to Omega-3 Ratio

To understand inflammation, it is essential to first grasp the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.

Both omega-6 and omega-3 fats are essential fatty acids (EFAs), meaning your body needs them but cannot make them on its own. The key is balance.

• • Omega-6 fats (from vegetable oils like soybean, corn, and sunflower) promote inflammation when consumed in excess.
  • Omega-3 fats (from wild fish, flax, chia, and algae) calm inflammation and protect cells.

For most of human history, people consumed a roughly 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. By the 1960s, the ratio had risen to approximately 3:1. Today, the average American’s ratio is 20:1 or higher.

This huge imbalance keeps the body in a constant state of low-grade inflammation, which not only raises the risk for pancreatic cancer but also contributes to heart disease, insulin resistance, Alzheimer’s, and many other inflammatory conditions.

Restoring your ratio to a healthy range (ideally 3:1 or lower) helps calm inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, and protect every cell in your body, including the pancreas.

AA to EPA Ratio: The True Marker of Inflammation

When it comes to understanding your body’s inflammation level, one of the most revealing biomarkers is your arachidonic acid (AA) to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratio.

Arachidonic acid (AA) is an omega-6 fatty acid that promotes inflammation when it’s too high.
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is an omega-3 fatty acid that helps reduce inflammation and support healthy cell function.

The AA to EPA ratio tells you how balanced, or imbalanced, your fatty acid profile is.

• • A healthy ratio is typically between 1.5:1 and 3:1.
  • Most people in the U.S. and Canada have a ratio of 20:1 or higher, and some even exceed 30:1.

This chronic imbalance keeps the body in an inflamed state, increasing the risk of heart disease, insulin resistance, Alzheimer’s, and cancers, including pancreatic cancer.

The BalanceTest measures this ratio, along with a comprehensive fatty acid profile, including dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA), a key anti-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acid that works in conjunction with EPA to balance inflammation.

When AA is high and DGLA is low, your body’s ability to regulate inflammation weakens. When EPA is low compared to AA, inflammation dominates, increasing disease risk.

By improving your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio and lowering your AA to EPA ratio, you restore balance to your cells, calm inflammation, and strengthen your body’s natural defense system, including the pancreas.

Low-Grade Inflammation: The Silent Trigger Behind Chronic Disease

Most people don’t realize that when your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is out of balance, you’re living with what scientists call low-grade, chronic inflammation.

You can’t always feel it, but it’s happening inside your cells every single day, like a small fire that never goes out. Over time, that fire damages tissues, disrupts hormones, and weakens your immune system.

This is the environment where chronic conditions begin to express themselves, including arthritis, asthma, heart disease, insulin resistance, dementia, and cancer.

It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a slow process that can take years, but it starts with the same root cause: cellular imbalance and chronic inflammation.

The key to prevention isn’t guessing, it’s testing.
By identifying your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio and AA to EPA ratio, you can measure your inflammation level and take action before disease ever develops.

That’s what makes the BalanceTest so powerful. It gives you a snapshot of your body’s internal environment, so you can take control of your health and keep inflammation in check before it turns into disease.

This is true prevention, and it starts at the cellular level.

How Omega-3s and Polyphenols Can Help

Here’s the good news: you can fight back.

Research continues to show that omega-3 fatty acids and polyphenols, found in plants and unripe olives, help calm inflammation, improve cell health, and even reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer.

In fact, the DO-HEALTH clinical trial found that a combination of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and regular exercise lowered the overall cancer risk by 61%.

Balancing your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio helps:

• • Keep cell membranes fluid, so nutrients move in and waste moves out
  • Lower inflammation
  • Improve insulin sensitivity
  • Strengthen immune response

Polyphenols also protect omega-3s from oxidation, allowing them to function more effectively within your cells. That’s why products like BalanceOil+, which combine high-quality omega-3s with polyphenols, are so effective.

BalanceOil+ supports cell membrane fluidity, reduces inflammation, and helps create a healthier internal environment, key steps in protecting against diseases like pancreatic cancer.

Steps to Protect Your Pancreas

You can’t change your genes, but you can improve your cellular environment, starting today.

Here’s how:

1. 1. Test your balance. Start with a BalanceTest to know your omega-6 to omega-3 and AA to EPA ratios.
   2. Eat anti-inflammatory foods. Choose wild fish, flaxseed, chia, leafy greens, and colorful fruits.
   3. Avoid seed oils. Reduce your intake of soybean, corn, sunflower, and canola oils.
   4. Move your body. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity and lowers inflammation.
   5. Take high-quality omega-3s with polyphenols. Use BalanceOil+ to naturally protect your cells.
   6. Manage stress. Chronic stress fuels inflammation and weakens the body’s defenses.

The Bottom Line

Pancreatic cancer is on the rise, but that doesn’t mean it’s out of your control.

When you restore balance within your body, improve cell membrane health, and calm inflammation, you give your pancreas and your entire body the best chance to stay healthy and strong.

True prevention starts at the cellular level. When your cells are healthy, your body is resilient.

If you’d like to learn more about testing your omega balance or improving your cellular health, please contact the person who shared this article, message me, or email robert@dietfreelife.com to schedule a complimentary consultation.

References

1. 1. National Cancer Institute (SEER). (2025). Pancreatic Cancer Statistics. Retrieved from https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/pancreas.html
   2. Global Burden of Disease Study. (2025). Global Burden of Pancreatic Cancer: Trends and Projections. BMJ Global Health.
   3. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. (2024). What You Need to Know About Rising Pancreatic Cancer Rates.
   4. Simopoulos, A. P. (2020). The Importance of the Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio in Disease Prevention. Nutrients, 12(8), 2407.
   5. Manson, J. E., et al. (2022). Vitamin D, Omega-3s, and Exercise in Cancer Prevention (DO-HEALTH Study). Frontiers in Aging, 3(61), 12–18.
   6. Calder, P. C. (2022). Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Inflammatory Processes: From Molecules to Man. Biochemical Society Transactions, 50(1), 475–485.
   7. Stark, K. D., et al. (2024). Global Survey on Fatty Acid Profiles and the AA/EPA Ratio in Human Populations. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, 196, 102591.
   8. Hotamisligil, G. S. (2017). Foundations of Immunometabolism and Implications for Metabolic Health and Disease. Immunity, 47(3), 406–420.

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Robert Ferguson is a California- and Florida-based single father of two daughters, clinical nutritionist, Omega Balancing Coach™, researcher, best-selling author, speaker, podcast and television host, health advisor, NAACP Image Award Nominee, creator of the Diet Free Life methodology, and Chief Nutrition Officer for iCoura Health. He also serves on the Presidential Task Force on Obesity for the National Medical Association and the Health and Product Advisory Board for Zinzino, Inc.

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