Wife of man who died from pancreatic cancer pleas for funding for early detection
It is the deadliest common cancer and Jo Curtis has joined Pancreatic Cancer UK in launching a campaign calling for the Scottish Government to prioritise early diagnoses.
Her husband Stewart died at the age of 45 after being diagnosed with the disease, leaving Jo as the sole carer of their two daughters.
The NHS speech therapist is now taking part in the 'Unite. Diagnose. Save Lives' campaign and believes an early diagnosis would save thousands of lives each year.
More than half of people diagnosed with the cancer die within three months of diagnoses but there is currently no screening programme or early detection tests to help doctors diagnose pancreatic cancer and its vague symptoms.
They include back pain, unexpected weight loss and indigestion, which are often common in other less serious conditions.
It means 80% of people are not diagnosed until the cancer is at an advanced stage, meaning it is too late to have lifesaving surgery.
(Image: Family) Survival has seen little improvement since the early 1970s and pancreatic cancer is expected to overtake breast cancer to become the fourth biggest cancer killer in the UK by 2027.
Pancreatic Cancer UK is now calling for the Scottish Government to invest in and roll-out regular monitoring for those at the highest risk of developing pancreatic cancer, invest in rolling out new tests to detect the disease and urge the UK government to allocate at least £35 million annually for the next 20 years.
Jo and her two daughters Evie and Ella have been grieving Stewart, who felt unwell in 2021 and began chemotherapy straight after being diagnosed.
He was still going out running, lifting weight and had planned on running the London Marathon in 2022 and was able to undergo surgery on December 8, 2021.
Jo said: 'I can't even put into words how I felt that day; I've never known time to pass so slowly.'
Recovery was tough for Stewart and he deferred his marathon place for a year. He was not offered follow-up tests, so he organised to have bloods taken regularly, privately and after experiencing back page on a family holiday during the summer of 2022, he underwent tests and was told the cancer had returned.
He died in January 2024 after undergoing more radiotherapy and chemotheraphy and had lost so much weight he sat at just 60kg.
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Jo said: 'We were lucky, in a way, as I have knowledge of the healthcare system and felt I could advocate for Stewart. We also had the luxury of using private healthcare as a back-up option. Once pancreatic cancer was suspected, things did move fast, but it was still not enough to save his life.
"I do wonder what happens to those who don't have someone to advocate for them, don't know when to push back or don't have the option of getting another opinion. Investing in early detection could make this need to advocate for ourselves less of an issue.
'Pancreatic cancer has been woefully underfunded for decades, and outcomes are still so poor. If there is sustained commitment to funding research into this disease to detect it earlier but also treat it more effectively, so recurrence isn't such a colossal fear, it would result in less families going through the heartbreak of losing someone like Stewart in the future.'
Diana Jupp, CEO of Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: 'Right now, GPs face a significant challenge in diagnosing pancreatic cancer in time to save people. The vital early detection tests they need are missing because research into this devastating disease has been vastly underfunded by successive governments.
"Thousands of families feel the heartbreaking consequences of this lack of action every year. Unlike other cancers where incredible strides have been made, people affected pancreatic cancer are all too often left with only hope to hold on to.
'Change is possible - we have made more progress in the last five years than in the last 50 combined. But, to make early detection a reality governments must do more. We need more drive, more investment, more attention devoted to the deadliest common cancer. Please sign our open letter. It's time to unite, diagnose and save lives.'
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