Eating one sausage a day or two rashers of bacon raises the risk of pancreatic cancer by a fifth

Eating one sausage a day or two rashers of bacon raises the risk of pancreatic cancer by a fifth, according to research.

Scientists have found that even relatively small amounts of processed meat increase the chance of developing this deadly illness.

Pancreatic cancer is called ‘the silent killer’ because it often does not produce symptoms in early stages.

Health fears: Scientists say even one sausage a day can raise the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly 20 per cent

Even when it does, the symptoms are often vague – such as back pain, loss of appetite and weight loss.

By the time the disease is diagnosed it is often too late and, because of this, it has one of the worst survival rates of all cancers and only 3 per cent of patients live beyond five years.

Little is known about its causes other than that smoking, excess alcohol and being overweight all seem to contribute.