Anyone been touched by pancreatic cancer?

[thingswillneverbethesameagain]

I never even knew you could get cancer of the pancreas or what the organ did apart from supply insulin. My husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 inoperable pc last March, he died in October, 7 months after diagnosis.

Pancreatic cancer is the 5th leading cause of UK cancer death with the [b]worst survival rate of all cancers[/b] yet it receives only c1% of research spend, survival rates have not changed in 40 years! We are desperately trying to raise awareness of this relentless disease and there is an online petition to try and ensure the government discusses and increases research spend.

If anyone would please sign the petition and share it wherever you can I'd be very grateful. It closes on 8 April so only a few days left. There are currently 76,911 signatures at last look. Its a big ask but I think we can do it :fingers crossed:

epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/48389

The friend/work colleague of a friend of mine has it. He recently featured in the controversial campaign.

Yes, we lost a very good friend two years ago. Six weeks from diagnosis to no more Rob, it felt incredibly fast and he became a shadow of himself very quickly :(

Sorry for your loss OP

Have signed. Lost a family friends to this in 2012, 12 weeks from diagnosis to losing him.

Yes, family member who didn't even get as far as an official diagnosis before it got him, was diagnosed after his death.

So sorry you lost your husband.

Done ! Hate this cancer most of all , not because i have anyone near or dear suffer from it , but because by the time it is diagnosed , it is too late.

I'm sorry for your loss.

My boss was diagnosed in April 2011 and he died in December 2011 leaving behind his wife and 4 children. I agree more funding is needed to try to improve survival rates for this terrible disease, and I've shared your petition on fb.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

An old friend of mine had pioneering surgery for this (not in the UK) several years ago and is now well and back at work. He is massively lucky - it is a truly terrible cancer to get.

Signed.

This horrible disease killed my aunt some years ago. She was diagnosed in October & died the following February. She had no chance at all. She was only 54 years old.

Sorry for your loss OP & anyone else who has lost someone close.

Signed. And thank you for this.

I lost my darling mum to pancreatic cancer almost 4 years ago and it was beyond horrific.

Done. My best friend was diagnosed with it well over 3 years ago, was given about 3-4 months to live. She actually lasted another 2.5 years and the doctors couldn't believe it.

I remember her & her mum telling me that one of the reasons it tends not to be diagnosed until it's too late is that the symptoms can be pretty vague e.g. in her case the only real symptom was backache.

Have signed and promoted on FB - my mum was diagnosed in March 2004 and died 6 weeks later. So hard to diagnose too many things it can be mistaken for the delay impacts on the survival rate hugely I would imagine.

So sorry for your loss. It must have been devastating .

Signed.

I lost my dad to this horrible disease- 10 weeks after symptoms first presented and 8 weeks after diagnosis. My sister and I now fundraise for Pancreatic Cancer UK when we can as there is so little awareness of it out there.
Sorry for all the other losses on this thread, so sad.

Signed, good luck raising awareness,so sorry for your loss.

I signed a while back, I think I may have retweeted your link a few times too ;) A family member was diagnosed in the summer last year, fortunately early enough for the whipple and fingers crossed, they've just had the all clear for now unfortunately I'm all too aware of how quickly that can change. It's a bastard, it really is.

I've only had contact with regards to patients but after learning more about it I was shocked at the survival rate and prognosis. I have signed.

My mum died of pancreatic cancer 21 years ago. She had six months from diagnosis to death. She wasted away in terrible pain. Was horrific.

I've had 2 friends caught by this disease. It is an absolute bastard of a disease and takes people really quickly, it's very sad. I have signed the petition. I had read about something which may be able to stop it in its tracks a few weeks ago which I hope they develop sooner rather than later.

[[http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cambridge/Cambridge-researchers-hope-for-possible-pancreatic-cancer-cure-20140107060010.htm]]

My mum also died from it some years ago, horrific is the right word Duchess .

I've signed the petition.

So sorry that your DH died from this awful disease thingswillneverbethesameagain .

Thank you all so much. As you know for the vast majority by the time diagnosis is finally made its too late for anything other than palliative chemotherapy. Having this awful cancer and then enduring the horrible chemo to gain just a few months in many cases is just heartbreaking.

I use Pancreatic Cancer UK forum and found/find it a great support and have made some friends there. They have specialist nurses who are a mine of information. We found our oncologist was quite clueless about a lot of things as we weren't at a specialist centre.

and yes, whatamessigotinto - horrific. :(

Thanks again for signing and sharing, I really do appreciate it. xxx

allfurcoat - give us a clue then? :D

I signed this petition a couple of weeks ago. My mum was diagnosed with PC just over two years ago. She had a whipples and is currently feeling fine. Unfortunately though it has returned in her liver. Heartbreaking for my Dad and DSis, truly an evil disease. My heart goes out to all of you who have lost a lived one. It simply does not get enough funding or public awareness.

I lost my VDMIL to pancreatic cancer. She became ill in July and died in October. Awful awful disease - I was blown away by how fast it took her. No time even for chemo.

Thoughts with all of you who have been touched by this disease.

The lack of research and the fact the Cancer Research UK puts a dismal amount of £ into research pisses me off.

Signed.