Christmas and new year can be a difficult time for those who have lost loved ones and those coping with serious health conditions. Fife woman Lisa Galloway knows this only too well.
Lisa, from Strathmiglo, lost her mum Andrea Worrell, who was just 51, to pancreatic cancer.
Here, Lisa shares her mum’s experience to diagnosis – and urges people to get unusual health symptoms checked out as soon as possible.
“My mum had osteo-arthritis which caused back pain,” says Lisa, an IT co-ordinator and receptionist at Auchtermuchty GP surgery.
“She had been complaining about this pain from her stomach to her back, or back to stomach, it was a pain right through.
“Mum was back and forth to the doctors and they sent her for an endoscopy and then a colonoscopy. One showed up diverticulitis and the other showed up gastritis.
“One doctor said they’d ruled out cancer, so we thought that was all good.
“Next they checked her bloods and her white cells were low. The next time they checked the bloods were fine.
“She wasn’t sent for MRIs and she felt fobbed off or that they didn’t believe the pain she was in.
‘Rushed to A&E’
“For the majority of the time Mum kept a brave face on,” Lisa continues.
“She became a care home worker and it was like she’d found her niche, and still went in to work.
“The pain got so bad she eventually had to go off sick. But there was still no diagnosis,” Lisa continues.
Andrea was rushed to A&E one January night in pain.
The doctor there noticed marks on her body – caused by hot water bottles she used on her front and back to help the pain.
“The doctor said it sounded like she was describing a pain from the pancreas,” says Lisa.
‘I wish there had been more follow-up’
Tragically, five days later, after Andrea had a CT scan, the family were told she had pancreatic cancer which had spread to her liver and lungs.
“By the time she got the diagnosis – more than six months after the investigations – there were no treatment options.
“She deteriorated so fast. She’d lost weight, was a shell of herself, and would have been too weak for chemotherapy,” says Lisa, 47.
“The outcome wouldn’t have changed, but she may have had treatment to improve her quality of life if she’d had more help.
“Mum was taking so many painkillers it was obvious the pain she was in. And she suffered badly with indigestion (another symptom of pancreas issues).
“My assumption is that doctors thought she was a hypochondriac.”
Another symptom of pancreatic cancer is depression, which Andrea suffered during her life.
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer
“Working in the NHS I understand the difficulty with diagnosis,” Lisa says. “I just wish there had been more follow-up for my mum.
“She was so young, it could have been different.”
It’s more than a decade since the family lost Andrea. And Lisa says memories of their mum are strong over the festive period.
“My mum loved Christmas, she was obsessed with it,” she says.
And for those worrying about their health as we approach a new year, Lisa has this message: “Be aware of symptoms or changes you have.
‘Don’t take no for an answer’
“Get them checked out and push for test and follow-ups. Don’t take no for an answer.”
Diagnosis has changed in Scotland in recent years, with The Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service, fast-track clinics where symptoms can be investigated by specialists.
But pancreatic cancer symptoms can be mistaken for more benign conditions so it’s important to get any new or unusual changes checked out by your GP.
Here are some of the symptoms that could be easy to dismiss as something less serious…
- Indigestion
- Tummy or back pain – combined tummy and back pain is quite a common symptom, but some people may just have one or the other
- Unexplained weight loss
- Appetite loss
- Jaundice
- Itchiness
- Changes to bowel habits – particularly greasy, yellowy poo that doesn’t flush away is a sure sign that there’s something wrong higher up in the digestive system
- Recently diagnosed diabetes
- Nausea
- Blood clots
- Fatigue
- Fever, shivering, and feeling unwell
- Difficulty swallowing food
- Depression and anxiety – without any obvious cause.
More information is available from Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland here.
Conversation