Get support
If you have any questions about your diagnosis or treatment options, speak to your doctor or nurse.
You can also speak to our specialist nurses on our free Support Line.
Stages of pancreatic cancer
- Stage 1 pancreatic cancer
- Stage 2 pancreatic cancer
- Stage 3 pancreatic cancer
- Stage 4 pancreatic cancer
You may be told the stage of cancer. This describes the size of the cancer, if it has spread outside the pancreas and where to.
What is stage 4 pancreatic cancer?
Stage 4 cancer means that the cancer has spread to other parts of your body. It may have spread to the lungs, liver or lining of your tummy (peritoneum). This is advanced or metastatic cancer.
Our specialist nurse, Nicci, explains what this diagnosis means and where you can get support. Linda shares her experience of how she coped with a diagnosis of advanced pancreatic cancer.
Possible treatments: You may be able to have chemotherapy to slow down the growth of the cancer. Treatment for stage 4 cancer won’t cure the cancer, but it may help you live longer and generally feel better. You can also have treatments to manage any symptoms .
Your doctor or nurse may call the cancer inoperable or unresectable, which means that surgery is not an option.
Read more about advanced pancreatic cancer.
Speak to our nurses
Read our booklet for people just diagnosed
If you have just been diagnosed with locally advanced or advanced cancer, download our booklet: Pancreatic cancer if you can’t have surgery (inoperable cancer). A guide if you have just been diagnosed.
You can also order a printed copy.
Published November 2022
To be reviewed November 2025