The risk of a blood clot is higher because of your cancer and cancer treatment, though it will not usually affect your treatment.
A blood clot that forms in a vein is known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or venous thrombosis.
If you cut yourself, a scab will form over the cut. This is formed by the blood clotting. Platelets (a type of blood cell) and fibrin (a type of protein) in your blood clump together to help the blood to clot. This is normal and stops the bleeding.
Sometimes a blood clot can form in a vein without any bleeding happening, which is not normal. This often happens in the lower leg (calf), upper leg (thigh) or arm. With pancreatic cancer this may also happen in veins near the pancreas such as the splenic vein or portal vein. This is called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and it can block the normal flow of blood through the veins.
Part of the clot may break off and travel to the lungs, where it can cause a blockage. This is called a pulmonary embolism (PE), which can be very serious.
A blood clot in a vein is serious and needs to be treated straight away.
Most blood clots can be successfully treated with blood thinning (anticoagulant) medicines.
If you get any of these symptoms, tell your doctor or medical team straight away, or go to A&E. But be aware that blood clots do not always cause symptoms.
Symptoms of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) include:
Symptoms of pulmonary embolism include:
There is a higher risk of getting a blood clot if you have cancer. If you have pancreatic cancer the risk is even higher, and people with advanced (metastatic) pancreatic cancer are more at risk.
There are many reasons for this including:
Your risk may also be higher if you:
Speak to your medical team about your risk of getting a blood clot and whether you can do anything to help reduce it. This might include keeping as active as you can and moving your legs when sitting down. Try to drink plenty of fluids, as you are more likely to get a clot if you are dehydrated.
If you are having surgery and chemotherapy, your medical team may also recommend things to reduce your risk of a blood clot.
If you are staying in hospital you will move around less, which increases the risk of a blood clot. You should be given information about how to reduce the risk, and your medical team should check for blood clots regularly. You may be given surgical stockings to wear to improve the blood flow in your legs. You will probably also be given medicine to thin the blood, which helps reduce your risk of a clot.
The medical team will get you moving as soon as possible. If you are not able to move around much, there are exercises you can do in bed. These include simple foot exercises, such as bending and straightening your toes. Try to drink enough fluids.
If you are having chemotherapy, your oncologist (cancer doctor) should consider whether you need blood thinning medicine to reduce the risk of clots. If you are given this, you will take it for as long as your chemotherapy lasts, or longer if your oncologist thinks you need it.
If you are already taking blood thinning medicine your oncologist will check that it’s suitable while you are having chemotherapy, and may change it.
You should be given information on ways to reduce the risk of a blood clot. Try to move around as much as possible, and drink plenty of fluids. If you have any symptoms that might be a sign of a blood clot, call the 24 hour emergency number you were given when you started chemotherapy. If you can’t get through on the emergency number, go to A&E.
If you are having radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer, you will not normally get medicine or surgical stockings to reduce the risk of clots. Radiotherapy treatment doesn’t increase the risk of getting a blood clot.
Read more about things that can reduce your risk of a blood clot. If you have any symptoms that might be a sign of a blood clot, tell your GP or medical team straight away, or go to A&E.
If your doctor thinks you have a DVT, you will usually have an ultrasound scan of the affected area. This is called a ‘Doppler’ and looks at the flow of blood through blood vessels.
If your doctor thinks you have a pulmonary embolism, you may have a computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA). This is a type of X-ray that looks for a blood clot in the blood vessels in the lungs.
Blood clots can usually be treated without stopping your cancer treatment. If you get a blood clot you will probably be given blood thinning medicines. You may hear these called anticoagulant medicines.
There are different types of blood thinning medicines that may be used.
You will have blood thinning medicines for three to six months at first. Your doctor will then review your treatment, to check whether you need to carry on taking it.
There is a risk that you could get a blood clot again after you finish blood thinning treatment. Contact your medical team or go to A&E if you get any of the symptoms.
The main side effect of blood thinning medicines is bleeding for longer than usual, for example if you cut yourself or have a nosebleed. This is because it will take longer for a normal clot to form to stop the bleeding. You may also find that you bruise more easily.
If you are having injections, you may get bruises in the injection area.
Ask your medical team about the side effects before you start the treatment.
You should be given an information sheet about your blood thinning medicine so you know what to expect, including how to take the medicine, the side effects and when to get help. You should also be given an anticoagulant medicines alert card that you should always carry with you.
You can read about blood clots in our fact sheet: blood clots in a vein and pancreatic cancer.
If you have any questions about blood clots, speak to your doctor or nurse.
You can also speak to our specialist nurses on our free Support Line.
Published August 2022
Review date August 2025
