4/27/2024 0 Comments Dad my stach hurtd![]() Freephone 08 or for more information visit their website here. They provide expert, confidential, personalised support and information. Pancreatic Cancer UK runs the only dedicated Support Line for patients and their loved ones, staffed by specialist nurses. No one deserves to go through what Dad – or our family – did. It beggars belief.Īs the daughter of someone who has died from pancreatic cancer, it feels like your death certificate is signed as soon as you receive that diagnosis. The reality is that there are countries who are miles ahead in terms of treatment. We almost have a superiority complex here that we are the best in the world. I have often questioned how the UK – with its world renowned health service – can offer such pitiful survival rates for pancreatic cancer. But I never wanted his legacy to be his cancer diagnosis. He was my hero and I will remain a Daddy’s Girl forever. In fact, it was often joked that he probably preferred his son-in-laws to his two daughters! He was a delightfully sarcastic man with the driest sense of humour. She says she was overwhelmed by the strength of the nicotine pouch and now has a warning for parents. She reckons you didn't even notice.Īnd finally, mum-of-two Kellie Whitehead recalls the time she took 'snus' with her 17-year-old son. Labour MP Dawn Butler shines a light on the small change the Conservatives have made recently that could help them steal the election. She fancied her date - until he admitted to being a Just Stop Oil protester. Writer Azania Patel shares her worst date series for our So, How Did it Go? series. He didn't stop for three years, by which time he'd walked the coast of the UK and improved his mental health. Then, one day, he opened his front door and started walking. Paul Harris came close to taking his life three times. ![]() Platform is the home of .uk's first-person and opinion pieces, devoted to giving a platform to underheard and underrepresented voices in the media.įind some of our best reads of the week below: But if my father was properly seen in time, maybe he’d still be around today. Patients are often waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis and for treatment to begin. More than half of people with the disease die within three months – my dad was tragically one of these people. Each year, over 10,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK and seven in 10 of them will receive no treatment at all. The Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce revealed that the UK – among 33 countries of comparable wealth and income levels – ranks one of the worst in the world for the deadliest cancers, including pancreatic. This is because it has the lowest survival rate of all common cancers, with five-year survival less than 7%.Īs a result, we were robbed of opportunities as a family. Nobody sat us down and explained that the cancer was terminal and that he would most likely die within three months. He was a delightfully sarcastic man with the driest sense of humour (Picture: Rebecca Gossage)įrom diagnosis to him passing away – just 44 days – he never once had a completed or fulfilled appointment with his oncologist.ĭad was given assurances that, while his cancer was not curable, it was treatable – and that gave us hope. Once at hospital, he was diagnosed with an infection and prescribed steroids to ensure he was ready to start chemotherapy before there was any further change or deterioration in the liver cancer. However, he was told there would be a three-hour wait for this. By the time I got there, he had taken the advice from the oncology team and called for an ambulance. I left work immediately and went to his home. Unfortunately, just three days before that, he was struggling to mobilise and was in a lot of pain. On 21 January, he was finally offered an appointment for 26 January. After this conversation, he texted me to say he had been ‘discussed’ in an oncology team meeting, so ‘fingers crossed I will hear something’. He still hadn’t heard anything when he spoke to the hospital on 19 January – 15 days after his biopsy and 20 days after his diagnosis. He went to his GP on 12 January where he was prescribed morphine patches, then told to expect an oncology appointment the following week. More than half of people with the disease die within three months – my dad was tragically one of these people (Picture: Rebecca Gossage)īy 12 January, Dad was in a lot of pain, but still hadn’t seen an oncologist.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |