Your GP will ask you questions about your symptoms, look at your medical history and examine you. S/he may look for signs of jaundice, or feel your abdomen (belly) for swellings.

S/he may then send you to see a specialist doctor at a nearby hospital. There are NHS cancer referral guidelines to help GPs decide who may need to see a specialist, and how quickly.

At hospital you are likely to have some of these tests:

Ultrasound scan
This test uses sound waves to build a picture of the inside of the body. You lie on your back while a device like a microphone is passed over you. The sound waves make pictures of your internal organs on a screen.

Computerised tomography (CT or CAT scan)
This is a type of X-ray that creates a picture of the inside of the body. You lie on a couch while it passes through a large hollow ring.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MR or MRI scan)
This is like a CT scan but it uses a magnet and radio waves, not X-rays, to make the picture. You lie still on a couch inside a long chamber while the pictures are taken.

ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography)
The doctor puts a thin, flexible instrument (an endoscope) down your throat, through the stomach and into the first part of the small intestine. The doctor can then take X-rays and tissue samples (biopsies) for further examination.

Biopsy
The doctor takes a sample of tissue to be looked at under a microscope for signs of cancer. One way of getting the sample is to put a fine needle through the skin and into the abdomen. Another way is to use an ERCP (above).

Laparoscopy
The doctor makes a small hole in the abdomen and puts in a thin, flexible instrument called a laparascope. It lets the doctor see inside you and take tissue samples (biopsies) that can then go to the laboratory to be looked at under a microscope.

Laparotomy
The doctor may not be able to see whether you have cancer without carrying out an operation on your abdomen. The aim is to look at the pancreas and other organs, and to take tissue samples (biopsies).

Further tests
If your doctor finds you have cancer of the pancreas you may need to have some more tests to see whether it has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or bowel. These tests may include a chest X-ray, ultrasound or CT scan.