If there was a cancer in the 21st century that killed one in four people within a month and where survival rates hadn’t changed over the last 50 years you would want to do something wouldn’t you?
Well, there is a cancer with these dire statistics; it’s pancreatic cancer and adding to the impact of those stark statistics are the facts that 45% of people are diagnosed in emergency settings and that for every ten diagnosed one gets potentially lifesaving surgery to get chemo and seven in ten get no active treatment whatsoever. The one-year survival rate is 19% the five-year survival rate is 7% and the 10-year survival rate is just 1%.
We all dread a cancer diagnosis but if it does happen, we usually have hope that the cancer can be treated with surgery and or chemo, and that the chances of survival are high.
I know many people who have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and a few people survive because they are diagnosed early enough for surgery, like Margaret who has lived a full and active life beyond her pancreatic cancer diagnosis, twelve years ago. However, Margaret’s mum who was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer was one of the 1 in 7 people who got no active treatment, she died a few months after diagnosis.
My husband Seth died in 2014 of pancreatic cancer. Seth died just 33 short and heart-breaking days after diagnosis. In the weeks and months before his diagnosis there were no signs and symptoms until just two weeks before his diagnosis when he suffered from digestion problems, lethargy, back ache and changed bowel habits. At the time I knew little about pancreatic cancer, but I did know that it was a harsh cancer. I soon found out the reality of a disease with such devastating effects.
Since 2014, For the last seven years I have been raising awareness of pancreatic and for the 7th year this November I will be making people aware of the disease in pancreatic cancer awareness month.
Can you join me? Find out more this disease and share the signs and symptoms with the public as well as healthcare professionals.
I will be sharing our Purple Rainbow Pancreatic Cancer Podcasts with one each day in November you can tune in and find out more from patients, families, GPs, consultants, oncologists, researchers and fundraisers.
You can find our more here www.purplerainbow.co.uk and follow #Sethslegacy or make a pledge to #ShineASpotlight4Seth on social media.
Please take a moment understand the signs and symptoms in the infographic below then talk, share and help others understand the signs/symptoms. By sharing you might just save a life.
Last Updated on 4 November 2021
