# When to seek urgent help with pancreatic cancer (NHS 111 and 999)

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/urgent-help-pancreatic-cancer/  
OnCo record `urgent-help-pancreatic-cancer` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Call 999 for signs of sepsis, vomiting blood with feeling faint, or a swollen painful leg with breathlessness or chest pain. Ring the hospital's 24-hour line at once for a temperature over 37.5 C or below 36 C, shivering with a stent or jaundice, vomiting large amounts, heavy diarrhoea or uncontrolled pain. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or use 111 for returning yellow eyes or skin.

## Summary

The wording, situation by situation. Sepsis (999 or A&E, NHS): breathing very fast; confused, slurred speech or not making sense; blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue; a very high or very low temperature, feeling hot or cold to the touch, or shivery; a rash that does not fade when pressed. Infection on chemotherapy (24-hour line, Macmillan): a temperature above 37.5 C or below 36 C, or feeling unwell even with a normal temperature. Blocked or infected bile duct or stent (Pancreatic Cancer UK and the NHS): yellow eyes or skin, dark urine, pale stools or itching returning means an urgent GP appointment or 111; fever or shivering with a stent means the 24-hour line the same day and 999 for sepsis signs; after surgery, sudden worse pain with a high temperature means A&E. Blocked duodenum or bowel (Pancreatic Cancer UK): vomiting large amounts especially after food, feeling full, tummy pain and bloating; contact the team, or A&E if you cannot reach them; the NHS says being sick for more than 2 days is a 111 call and green vomit or a sudden severe tummy ache is 999. Bleeding (NHS): vomiting blood, black stools, feeling faint, dizzy, confused, cold and clammy or breathing fast: call 999 or go to A&E; if the vomiting of blood has stopped and there are no other symptoms, an urgent GP appointment or 111. Blood clot (Pancreatic Cancer UK and the NHS): pain, swelling, warmth or colour change in a leg or arm, sudden or gradual breathlessness, sudden chest pain, coughing up blood or fainting: tell the team straight away, or go to A&E or call 999; DVT symptoms with breathlessness or chest pain are always 999. Diarrhoea on chemotherapy (Macmillan): 4 or more times a day, at night, with cramps or not settling with the medicine within 24 hours on FOLFIRINOX; 3 or more loose stools a day on nab-paclitaxel; the NHS adds that diarrhoea for more than 7 days is a 111 call. Low blood sugar on insulin: follow the plan your diabetes nurse gave you and tell the team. Do not drive yourself to A&E. This is orientation from public patient pages and guidelines, not advice for your case: your own team's instructions and 24-hour number come first.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Tags: gi; pancreatic

## Sources

- NHS: sepsis: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sepsis/
- NHS: pancreatic cancer, symptoms: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pancreatic-cancer/symptoms/
- NHS: jaundice: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/jaundice/
- NHS: DVT (deep vein thrombosis): https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/deep-vein-thrombosis-dvt/
- Macmillan: sepsis: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/sepsis
- Macmillan: FOLFIRINOX: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatments-and-drugs/folfirinox
- Pancreatic Cancer UK: stent for a blocked bile duct: https://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/information-and-support/treatments-for-pancreatic-cancer/stent-for-a-blocked-bile-duct/
- Pancreatic Cancer UK: stents for a blocked duodenum: https://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/information-and-support/treatments-for-pancreatic-cancer/stents-for-a-blocked-duodenum/
- Pancreatic Cancer UK: blood clots in a vein and pancreatic cancer: https://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/information-and-support/managing-symptoms-and-side-effects/blood-clots-in-a-vein-dvt-and-pancreatic-cancer/
- NHS: when to use 111: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/urgent-and-emergency-care-services/when-to-use-111/
- NHS: when to call 999: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/urgent-and-emergency-care-services/when-to-call-999/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/)
- terms: [Biliary stent problems: blockage and infection](https://onco.cc/terms/biliary-stent-problems/), [Carers: what you can do and UK carer support (pancreatic cancer)](https://onco.cc/terms/carers-pancreatic-cancer-uk/), [Cholangitis: infection of a blocked bile duct](https://onco.cc/terms/acute-cholangitis/), [Duodenal stenting and gastrojejunostomy for malignant gastric outlet obstruction](https://onco.cc/terms/duodenal-stenting-gastric-outlet/), [Febrile neutropenia](https://onco.cc/terms/febrile-neutropenia/), [Venous thromboembolism (VTE)](https://onco.cc/terms/vte/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/urgent-help-pancreatic-cancer.json