For those with pancan, did you drink lots of Diet Coke or Coke?

Interesting question, which should also be prefaced by or included with the question about whether you have any of the germline mutations that make you more susceptible to pancreatic cancer. (A sub-question of that would be, "Which form of pancreatic cancer did you get?")

So, I have PDAC and a family history of the ATM mutation, but yes, I drank a LOT of Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola up until my late 20's. I switched to the diet versions (then with Aspartame) until my early 40's, when I started drinking the Splenda (sucralose) versions.

I was able to give all the sodas up when I finally found some coffee recipes I liked in my mid-40's, but most of those also had sucralose-based sweeteners and/or creamers.

On top of that, I've been an absolute carnivore all my life. Red meat by the ton, and although not processed like sandwich meats, higher in fat than chicken or fish on average.

I was positive my first colonoscopy at age 55 would be my death sentence, but it was clean as a whistle. I figured if I got past that, I'd be OK cancer-wise since I was very fit and never smoked, so it was a bit of a blow to be diagnosed with PDAC at age 58.

But between the mutations, the high-fat diet, and all the real and fake sugars, and some possible agricultural/industrial chemical exposure, I guess I just put too many bullets in the roulette gun. I'm not sure which bullet got me but at least one did.

I read somewhere that once the first PDAC cell appears, it can take up to 10 years for pancreatic cancer to actually reach a diagnosable or symptomatic stage. (With my dad's mesothelioma, it could be as long as 50 years from asbestos exposure to noticeable disease). So, in my case, I'm guessing whatever exposure(s) I had were a good bit before age 58, but there were so many for so long it's hard to blame just one.

Thanks for all that. They said I didn’t have anything hereditary. They kept saying that over and over. Just adenocarcinoma. I just want to know what happened as I’m sure many others do. I did exactly what you did going from one artificial sweetener to the next. My mom just drank straight coke tried Diet Coke for a bit but mostly regular coke. She too was not a smoker or heavy drinker.
I want to start a research project on this not sure how to start.

in reply to @nvan22 For what it is worth, I recently met with a nutritionist and she said I could have 2 small cans of Coca Cola each day, not diet. It helps me with the chronic nausea

Thanks for replying that’s very interesting.

My sense is a relationship with a particular food is likely not credible.

It might be helpful to review pancan rates in Europe and Asia ... and, remember, these cultures are made up of different gene pools, and have much lower levels of obesity and diabetes than the US.

Yes I need to look to different cultures for sure.
It’s more the chemicals and man made ingredients that are foundations for what we are calling “foods”. Most humans trust and ingest basically anything that is sold in stores depending on the FDA to protect us.

That may be an extreme perspective - the FDA is trying to regulate for safety - it's what governments are supposed to do. Not perfect, but helpful.

It is up to us, individually, to make the best choices. We have known for decades that processed foods, large amounts of sugar and salt, etc, are negatives for our health. Yet, we have extraordinary rates of obesity and diabetes, which does seem to cause/exacerbate other medical issues.

This, and other summaries list smoking, obesity, and diabetes - these last two related - as significant factors. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/pancreatic-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.html

Yes to all of that! Unfortunately I don’t see it improving. The number of obese children has more than quadrupled since I was a kid. Same with adults. European countries do a much better job of policing what foods are consumed by their citizens. Not sure how this can be fixed. Used to be rare to see an obese child now they make up 25% of schools in many areas. Not necessarily all low income populations. Ugh

Back to the question..
YES. Since high school, 55 years ago, I’ve enjoyed Coke, lots of it, … and then Tab, Diet Coke and now Coke Zero. I continue to do so.

It could be a factor in my pancan, perhaps one of many. Abundant alcohol and red meat have been a part of my life.

The idea that these three are at the root of my situation today fascinates me.

Thank you for responding! Yes it fascinates me too. I know sugar and alcohol are big on the list of possible causes, however neither my mom nor I ate lots of sugar aside from the Coke and Diet Coke. My mom did drink Tab at one point I remember that growing up, but nothing like the amount of Coke which of course has very high sugar content. She drank Coke daily I drank Diet Coke. We weren’t big alcohol drinkers really did drink socially I guess is the term. Not huge red meat eaters but what is a lot steak every night. I just want to know if there is some connection that’s why I’m asking, something else we might all have in common.