Study links drinking 2 sugary sodas a week to higher pancreatic cancer risk

PANCREATIC cancer doesn’t come up as often as breast, colon or lung cancer, but it’s one of the most serious diagnoses a person can face. It’s often called a “silent” cancer because it rarely causes noticeable symptoms early on.

By the time signs like abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss or yellowing skin show up, the disease has often spread, which is a big reason it remains one of the deadliest cancers.

The reassuring part is that pancreatic cancer is still relatively uncommon compared with many other cancers, and researchers have a growing understanding of what raises the odds of developing it. Some risk factors, like age and family history, are out of your hands. Others, including smoking, carrying excess weight and type 2 diabetes, are things you can influence.

Scientists have also spent years studying how diet fits into the picture—not just what’s on your plate but what’s in your glass. Many of the habits we think of as small, harmless indulgences are the ones we repeat several times a week without a second thought, and that repetition is exactly what researchers look at when they track people’s health over time.

One popular drink in particular has caught the attention of researchers and oncologists alike, and the amount linked to a higher risk may be lower than you’d expect.