Pancreatic, Liver & Bone Cancer

My son who was only 39  had Chronic Pancreatis and a Pseudocyst which he had drained for about 20 months.  No one seamed to take it seriously until he moved to Liverpool.  He was loosing so much weight and then on the 2nd January he passed away being told he had Pancreatic, Liver & Bone Cancer three days before he passed.  As you may of guessed and I have a lot of unanswered questions.  He had had so many scans and I can not get my head around it that the cancer was not picked up before.  I am now do my own investigating.

 

Sally

  • Hi Sally, this is terrible. Not only is it so hard to deal with the loss of a loved one, it must be even harder being your son and then added to that you have so many questions you need answers to. I don't blame you looking into the neglect further, I don't think I'd be able to heal if I didn't know the facts and truth. I hope you get to the bottom of things. Take care

  • How Michelle

    I recieved my sons medical notes from the last hospital he was in and they mentioned a previous scan he had on the 9th September in a previous hospital.  My son had kept as far as I was aware all letters relating to hospital appointments etc but there was not one for this scan.  I have requested a copy of the CT scan to see if it showed Cancer.  I will fight for my son however long it will take.

    Sally

  • Sally I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my dad to pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver. We found out he was sick and 8 days later he passed away. We had such a negative experience because he was working abroad but like yourself it wasn't picked up when it maybe could've been. His medical notes from Egypt now state he had cancer but they gave him ibuprofen and something to calm his stomach.  When we got him to hospital in the UK they couldn't believe he wasn't sent via medi vac and he was severely dehydrated of fluids. Anyway sorry I can't help but rant when I think about what happened. We are trying to seek answers as well but I've realised I don't actually know what will be enough for us to get some closure. I feel like someone should be responsible for him getting cancer but that's ridiculous,  cancer doesn't discriminate with who it chooses but so far I've not let that stop me from trying to get more information. I do hope you find the answers you're looking for, stay strong and I'll say a prayer for you and your family.

     

    Lots of love

    Jolene 

  • Hi jolene and Sally, I can relate to you both in some ways. My dad died 3 days after diagnosis, I had to deal with the diagnosis and passing all in the same breath. I didn't have enough time to get my head around things. I had so many questions that I didn't have answers to, part of the process for me has been that I've had to decide on my own answers in order to move on (usually only to the next question). My dad suffered a pulmonary embolism and I question why he was not given blood thinners? When you follow the NICE guidelines it should of been offered to him. I've thought about writing to the hospital and asking why. The more I've read about the cancer he had the more I've realised that in those few weeks before diagnosis he was actually dying despite never being told that at the consultation. I think I think you need to get as many answers you can otherwise it will continue to bug you, you will find peace at some point with the answers you have. I will never get over my dad dying in my arms and giving him CPR to try and save him. It made me realise that there are things that I can't do in life no matter how hard I try. I'm very much a can do girl and not easily defeated, this was a hard pill to swallow. I always question if there was something more I could of done that night. I have to carry that burden with me every day, it's hard. However I do try and look more at some of the positives to get me through each day, for every bit of hurt you have you have to look for a little good. My dad died in my arms with me talking to him and holding him. He also died at home and my mum was also there. If it was the day before she'd of been at work and I could of gone in the house to find him passed away alone. I didn't have to watch him for months on end in pain and crying in pain like I know others have and for that I'm thankful. However I never got to say a proper goodbye and nor did he. I was not ready to let him go and never will be. I hope you two can find some peace also. Take care ladies x

  • Hi Jolene and Michelle

    Thank you for your support.  The thing that makes me angry more than anything is he was in hospital more than he was at home with the Chronic Pancreatis and nobody seem to take full blood tests or a liver function tests until the very end.  His own GP was shocked to hear he had cancer but was very agitated when I asked her why these tests were not done espectially as my son was on so much medication. and loosing so much weight.  I have read that when you have Chronic Pancreatis it can lead to cancer so surely they should of been checking for it all the time.  Sorry if I sound so angry but like you both said I just want answers.  I am still waiting for the results on the CT scan which was done at the other hospital on the 9th September 2015. 

    I am having to also cope that my grandkids have so many issues now that they will hardly talk to me or want to see me.  I try to ring my sons ex partner (the mother of my grandkids) but she never phones back.

     

  • Hi Michele

    Since my original post about my son's case I got a report back from PALS from the first hospital he was in when he first went to Liverpool only to find out from the hospital that they miss read two scans six months before he died.  The only treatment he had during the six months before he died was paracetamol and pain killers.  He had no cancer treatment at all and it was all too late to have any form to cancer treatment.  I have taken this forward as you can imagine.

     

    Thanks for your support.  Sally

  • Hi Sally. I know this is no comfort to you now but but my cancer was missed too. I was told I had chronic pancreatitis by my consultant (who was convinced I was a secret drinker as he couldn't understand why I had it - but that's another story) and I had endless scans and tests, including those for cancer. They said nothing ever showed up other than inflammation in the head of my pancreas. After a year of being ill I eventually became jaundiced and was admitted to hospital with biliary sepsis. A stent was put in to relieve the jaundice and a biopsy was done which revealed the cancer. By that time the tumour was 7cm big so how it was missed, Ill never know. I was lucky though in that it was operable and it looks like I'm now cancer free (pending some mop-up chemo). 

    Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to detect until it has spread which is why the survival rates are so low. There needs to be more research into early detection as it's the fourth most common cancer. If it had the funding that breast or bowel cancer get, it might help. I'm so sorry for your loss.