Pancreatic cancer, raising awareness.

[bloodywhitecat]

Some people might remember my post back in June when DP turned yellow and we battled to get him diagnosed at every turn, he was turned away from A&E and the GP surgery told him that sudden onset, painless jaundice was not worthy of an emergency appointment. After several more battles on 30th Sept DP was diagnosed with the most aggressive form of pancreatic cancer, he has had the Whipples procedure but sadly a secondary growth was discovered on his liver during the procedure. He needs chemo but he is still waiting.

In the meanwhile I am trying to raise awareness of PC, lots of GPs have very little experience of it and 50% of people with it die within 3 months of diagnosis. Pancreatic Cancer UK are running a campaign for quicker diagnosis and quicker treatment.

It is the No Time To Wait campaign and you can sign the petition here.

If you do nothing else, please make yourself familiar with the signs and symptoms of PC.

I wish the very best for you & your husband. My cousin died of pancreatic cancer aged 31, it took just 6 weeks from diagnosis and she left 2 little girls behind. I believe the fact she was younger meant it was more aggressive. We would both be turning 50 next year had she still been here. I have signed your petition.

I followed your thread and I’m sorry it was pancreatic cancer, I hope things go to well. Sadly I’m familiar with this illness and how cruel it can be but thank you for spreading awareness, I try to do the same and my blood runs cold when I see someone with jaundice or hear of a new ‘older onset’ of type 1 diabetes. I always want to mention it but don’t want to scare strangers either.

I'm always interested in your posts, OP. I'd be delighted to sign. I remember your initial post very well because my brother had the same experience, 3 1/2 years ago. He was going off to work one day, running late and his wife said, "You're not going anywhere. You're LegoMan yellow." They went to A&E and the rest, as they say, is history. He had a Whipple's procedure. They removed his entire pancreas, which was radical on top of an already radical surgery. It's been tough but it's given him time. His youngest child is 8.
I wish you and your partner many, many happy years of cancer-free peace and joy.

Our friend was always a bit of a fussy eater and started turning down more and more because she said her stomach was upset by different things.
We were a bit dismissive to be honest, but she ended up going to the doctor. It took a few weeks but they diagnosed pancreatic cancer. She had a Whipples, but died a month later.
It's such a cruel disease. By the time you know you have it, it seems to be so advanced.
I will sign.

I've signed, hoping for the best for you and your DH, @bloodywhitecat.

I’m so pleased to read that he’s recovering well from the Whipple’s procedure.

So many sad stories of loss on this thread, it’s an awful disease.

Signed! I remember your original thread, I’m so sorry to hear about your husband. I have wondered how he was getting on. Sorry to hear everyone else’s stories too, it’s a horrific disease!

So sorry OP

I’m absolutely stunned that a GP didn’t immediately suspect pancreatic cancer. I really hope that GP is not representative of many.

All,god wishes to you and your dh

*good

Signed, I lost my mum to this, only 3 weeks after diagnosis. Only symptoms she got was losing weight but we put that down to losing her husband 3 months early.

She only went to doctors for an appetite booster and after ultrascan and CT scans, Got the terrible news and I'd never heard of pancreatic cancer.

I wish ur DP good luck in his fight

Have signed, thank you for sharing this. All the best to you and your DH.

Sorry to hear this OP. A childhood friend died of this at 35 last year. Very healthy and fit, and complained of stomach pains which were serially misdiagnosed until it was way too late.

Is this becoming more common? Just lost a dear friend - backache, diabetes & finally breathlessness, never diagnosed.

I lost my mum to this almost 40 years ago when I was 3. It’s heartbreaking to see that things haven’t got any better for those that have it. I’ll sign your petition now.

@AcornAutumn

So sorry OP

I’m absolutely stunned that a GP didn’t immediately suspect pancreatic cancer. I really hope that GP is not representative of many.

All,god wishes to you and your dh

Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to diagnose. My dad was treated for diabetes for a year before they found out it was cancer.

I’m so sorry to read your story. A close friend of a friend of mine was the face of a (controversial) pancreatic cancer awareness campaign several years ago. It is so under diagnosed much more needs to be done. Sadly the person is no longer with us.

Sorry OP, pancreatic cancer is awful. My dad's s best friend only survived six weeks after diagnosis in 2004, age 59
My dad is having chemo for a related cancer at the moment, of the bile duct. He was going to have the Whipple procedure before the dysplasia turned cancerous but the anaesthetist wasn't happy about the risk of him not surviving the surgery (after he spent six months getting fit for it)

30 years ago (pretty much to the day), my dad had a cold, then in December had Jaundice, and was told it was possibly hepatitis from fish. He felt so unwell in January he was admitted into hospital and died on my mums birthday on the 18th February. He was diagnosed in his post mortem. It's heartbreaking that it is still so hard to diagnose

Signed petition and bumping thread. Well done for raising awareness OP and wishing your DH well

Signed

Thank you. It is so sad that there are so many people who have been touched by this awful disease and it so sad that it remains so hard to diagnose, my heart goes out to everyone touched by pancreatic cancer. Looking at DP right now you would never know he was sick, he looks better than he has in a long time. He has energy and his colour is normal but I am well aware that inside him he has a tumour in his liver too. I wish he had been diagnosed and treated sooner because I think he would've been one of the Whipple's success stories.

I lost my cousin 3 years ago in Christmas Day. Her symptoms were loss of appetite and backache. No one took her symptoms seriously. She was diagnosed in August and died Christmas Day leaving us devastated.

I'm so sorry to hear about your DP. I will certainly sign for you. My lovely grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer aged 76 and passed away less than 3 months after diagnosis. I still think about her all the time and thank her for the wonderful memories she and her husband gave me growing up. It's such a vile disease.

My DF died just over three years ago.
His first 'official' symptom was jaundice, but he had been diagnosed with Wilson's disease and type 2 diabetes a few years before - but the connection was never made.
He died just 26 days after his tumour was found, in a way that very few pancreatic cancer sufferers end, thankfully for the rest of them (as awful as that is to say, but I would never wish anyone to die in the way my father did).
It's a truly terrible disease, and it really needs for medical professionals to be on the ball to spot it at the stage where it's treatable.
My heart goes out to anyone who is, or has a loved one who is, a victim of this truly shitty disease.

Thanks to the amazing district nurses (and this may be upsetting and I apologise if so but Macmillan were absolutely useless, they were no help whatsoever) he stayed at home for the duration of his illness with good pain control and passed peacefully at home

Same here. We threw them out in the end as not only were they useless they kept upsetting the patient. As another poster said it was Marie Curie that went above and beyond.