You may not be sure where your pancreas is, but it's been getting a lot of attention this week. First, because a new trial of a vaccine for pancreatic cancer has started and second, because an artificial pancreas is being promoted as the cure for diabetes.

Where is my pancreas and what does it do all day?

Your pancreas is mostly hidden behind your stomach in the upper part of your abdomen - on the left hand side of your rib cage. It looks like a big-headed fish. The tail slopes up to the left and is hard to get to. It produces juices which digest fat and proteins, but is most famous for making the hormone insulin, which regulates the level of glucose in the blood. The pancreas is linked to the duodenum (a section of the small intestine) by tubes (ducts) so that its juices can reach the food as it leaves the stomach. Insulin is made in the poetically named islets of Langerhans. It is responsible for shunting glucose into cells and keeps the level of glucose in the blood at a constant level. The system works so well that even after a big meal your blood glucose should not get too high.

What can go wrong?

Diabetes and pancreatic cancer are the most common medical problems. There are two types of diabetes: type 1 is due to under-production of insulin and type 2 is a mixture of lack of insulin and a resistance by the cells to respond to insulin. Both types mean the sugar level in your blood remains too high, with the risk of damaging your body. Complications of diabetes include heart disease (too much glucose in the body helps fur up arteries), kidney failure, eye problems and damage to nerves. Type 1 is so far unpreventable but type 2 (the most common) is more likely in people who are overweight.

Pancreatic cancer is a horrible disease because it is often comes on silently and is advanced by the time it is diagnosed. Fewer than five in 100 people with the disease are expected to still be alive after five years. It is the 11th most common cancer in the UK and although its cause is unknown you can increase your risk by smoking, drinking (more than five units a day), being overweight and having a family history of the disease. Up to one in 10 people with pancreatic cancer may have a genetic fault that predisposes them to the disease but so far no one knows what it is.

What's the good news?

There are genuine advances in both diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Preliminary tests on small numbers of people with type 1 diabetes show that if they are given insulin according to minute-by-minute measurements of glucose levels in their bodies, it improves the control of their blood glucose levels and therefore reduce the risk of short- and long-term complications of diabetes. The system involves putting a small patch on the body which monitors the level of blood glucose and sends the readings to an insulin pump which administers the right amount of insulin. This system has particular value in the night when people's blood glucose is usually unmonitored and can go too low. Diabetes UK, which funds the research, says bigger studies are needed .

Meanwhile a trial of a vaccine, combined with chemotherapy, is being carried out with more than 1,000 patients with pancreatic cancer. The vaccine is meant to work by improving the ability of the body's own immune system to fight the disease. The vaccine is not a cure, but may improve the length and quality of life for people with pancreatic cancer.