Wife of man who died from pancreatic cancer pleas for funding for early detection
A woman who watched her husband die from pancreatic cancer is calling for improved investment in research into the disease.
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.
Read More
NHS Scotland saved my life - here's why everyone needs to do the bowel test
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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
"How Much Ketamine Are You On?': Jon Stewart Spotted A Huge Issue With This "Crazy" Theory Trump Shared Online
Daily Show host Jon Stewart on Monday dismissed Elon Musk's attempt to cut government spending for President Donald Trump as an 'epic fail.' But what really caught his eye was Musk's spacey demeanor during an Oval Office ceremony held last week to mark the billionaire's departure from the job. 'There might've been an explanation for that behavior,' Stewart said, and cited a New York Times report that Musk had been using a blend of drugs including ketamine, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and Adderall. That same report said Musk was experiencing bladder issues, which he told friends were caused by the ketamine. 'He told people that?' Stewart asked in disbelief. 'This dude is a one-man anti-drug campaign.' Stewart then offered up an ad for the mock campaign. Related: A Republican's Response To A "Tax The Rich" Chant At His Town Hall Is Going Viral 'These are your pants,' he said. 'These are your pants on drugs.' As he spoke, an image of Musk was altered to show a wet patch forming around his groin. Elon Musk has denied the New York Times's report, saying he is "NOT taking drugs!" @elonmusk/X / Via Twitter: @elonmusk Related: "I Am So Torn With What You Are Doing" — 11 Posts From MAGA Business Owners Who Are So Close To Getting It Later in the segment, Stewart turned to Trump's latest conspiracy theory: the president shared a post on his Truth Social platform claiming that Joe Biden was executed in 2020 and replaced by clones. Stewart said it was another example of Trump 'pulling some new crazy thing out of his ass to distract us.' But Stewart pointed to a big flaw in that conspiracy theory with a question for the president. 'You're saying that the Joe Biden who doesn't even know where he is is actually an incredibly advanced cloned robot?' he asked. 'How much ketamine are you on?' Much like the image of Musk earlier, the one of Trump shifted to show a wet patch appearing around the groin. 'A lot,' Stewart concluded. See more in his Monday night monologue: This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Also in In the News: People Can't Believe This "Disgusting" Donald Trump Jr. Post About Joe Biden's Cancer Diagnosis Is Real Also in In the News: One Body Language Expert Spotted Something Very Telling When Donald Trump "Held His Own Hand" At His Recent Press Conference Also in In the News: Republicans Are Calling Tim Walz "Tampon Tim," And The Backlash From Women Is Too Good Not To Share
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Dr Elisabeth Whipp, innovative oncologist who spoke out on television against ‘postcode prescribing'
Dr Elisabeth Whipp, who has died aged 77, was a leading oncologist who was suspended from Bristol Royal Infirmary in 2002 for carrying out an unapproved form of radiotherapy treatment; she was later cleared of wrongdoing, amid suggestions that her real transgression had been to make public criticisms of the vagaries of NHS funding. She made headlines in 1997 when she spoke out in an edition of Channel 4's Dispatches against the increasing prevalence of 'postcode prescribing'. She had been treating two breast cancer patients with the drug Taxol; one was from Taunton, and her treatment was funded by the Somerset Health Authority, but the second woman, from Bristol, had to negotiate an overdraft to raise £10,000 to pay for the drugs herself. 'There is always embarrassment about patients having to buy a drug,' Liz Whipp complained. 'After many years in the NHS I'm not used to bargaining with money.' In response, the Avon Health Authority argued that the money was more urgently needed for breast-care nurses. Liz Whipp was back in the news in early 2003 when it emerged that she had been suspended some weeks earlier amid questions over the experimental radiotherapy she had been prescribing. Previously, the location of tumour beds had been difficult to pinpoint and radiation had to be directed over the whole breast, with care taken to keep the dose low enough to minimise the risk of damaging the heart. Liz Whipp's innovation had been to use newly developed MRI scanners to locate the tumour beds more precisely and then target higher doses of radiation at a smaller area. Some of her colleagues considered that she was underestimating the risks that these higher doses posed, and Bristol Royal Infirmary took the decision to investigate her for carrying out treatment that had not been authorised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). 'If we allow unfettered clinical freedom to take place we will end up with situations where patients will receive treatments which are not in accordance with Nice guidance,' a hospital spokesman insisted. Liz Whipp suggested in later life, however, that certain male colleagues had not approved of her breaking the omerta around NHS funding and had been waiting for an opportunity to take her down a peg. She was suspected of having broken rules by encouraging patients to complain to their MPs about NHS restrictions on the availability of drugs such as Herceptin. The suspension of Liz Whipp became a cause célèbre, with the shadow health secretary Liam Fox arguing that she was the victim of an NHS culture that victimised whistleblowers: 'I can't see any case to say this doctor acted in an unprofessional way. In fact, it seems to have been quite the opposite and she has acted in the interest of her patients. Dr Whipp has been suspended for what we regard as totally spurious reasons.' Her former patients queued up to praise her. One 77-year-old man told the press: 'She is an extremely compassionate woman and very sympathetic. She was the best doctor I could have had and I think that she saved my life.' Liz Whipp – who pointed out that, of 542 patients given the experimental treatment, only two had seen their cancer return – claimed that she had in fact always followed Nice guidelines. Nevertheless she was suspended for nearly two years while the United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust investigated her. She was completely exonerated, but although she returned to work she was deeply pained by the experience and grieved by the thought that many patients had died unnecessarily while her treatment programme was on hold. The daughter of Brian Whipp, an academic, Elisabeth Clare Whipp was born on September 9 1947. She read medicine at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and worked at the London Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital before moving to Bristol in the early 1980s. As a long-serving radiotherapy consultant at the Royal Infirmary's Haematology and Oncology Centre, Liz Whipp gained a reputation for speaking her mind. In 1983 she made waves by criticising Prince Charles for visiting the Bristol Cancer Help Centre, a charity that was advocating the rejection of orthodox medicine in favour of alternative treatments: 'I do feel strongly about the Prince of Wales making a Royal tour of something that's full of bogus notions.' She became renowned for her innovative thinking, which was not confined to the development of radiotherapy. Convinced that the mental welfare of patients played a large role in their recovery, she appointed a clinical psychologist, Dr James Brennan, to work with her at Bristol; this was the first full-time clinical psychology post in cancer services in the NHS. Experience taught her that when it came to coping with cancer, 'single women… do better, because they tend to have women friends, whereas a lot of married women have husbands they can't talk to about health.' Described by one friend as 'a statuesque woman, combining a pre-Raphaelite beauty with the charisma of a Valkyrie', Liz Whipp was a keen painter and a fine pianist and singer: on one occasion she found herself in a musical duel with Germaine Greer, competing to see who could give the better rendering of the Queen of the Night's aria from The Magic Flute. She had recently finished the first draft of a gleefully horrific thriller, utilising her medical background to devise a series of especially gruesome murders. She created a beautiful garden at her home in Clifton, finding room in a relatively small space for a pool of koi carp, a stream, quiet pathways, a grotto and a bamboo grove. Her wide circle of friends was treated to extravagant garden parties complete with fireworks. On one occasion a neighbour disgruntled by the noise spitefully padlocked the gates at the end of her drive to inconvenience the guests – a futile gesture, as no guest at one of Liz Whipp's parties left until they absolutely had to. Elisabeth Whipp, born September 9 1947, died April 26 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Buzz Feed
an hour ago
- Buzz Feed
Jon Stewart Slams Donald Trump's Conspiracy Theory About Joe Biden
Daily Show host Jon Stewart on Monday dismissed Elon Musk 's attempt to cut government spending for President Donald Trump as an 'epic fail.' But what really caught his eye was Musk's spacey demeanor during an Oval Office ceremony held last week to mark the billionaire's departure from the job. 'There might've been an explanation for that behavior,' Stewart said, and cited a New York Times report that Musk had been using a blend of drugs including ketamine, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and Adderall. That same report said Musk was experiencing bladder issues, which he told friends were caused by the ketamine. 'He told people that?' Stewart asked in disbelief. 'This dude is a one-man anti-drug campaign.' Stewart then offered up an ad for the mock campaign. 'These are your pants,' he said. 'These are your pants on drugs.' As he spoke, an image of Musk was altered to show a wet patch forming around his groin. Elon Musk has denied the New York Times's report, saying he is "NOT taking drugs!" 😂💯 Also, to be clear, I am NOT taking drugs! The New York Times was lying their ass off. I tried *prescription* ketamine a few years ago and said so on 𝕏, so this not even news. It helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven't taken it since then. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2025 @elonmusk/X / Via Twitter: @elonmusk Later in the segment, Stewart turned to Trump's latest conspiracy theory: the president shared a post on his Truth Social platform claiming that Joe Biden was executed in 2020 and replaced by clones. Stewart said it was another example of Trump 'pulling some new crazy thing out of his ass to distract us.' But Stewart pointed to a big flaw in that conspiracy theory with a question for the president. 'You're saying that the Joe Biden who doesn't even know where he is is actually an incredibly advanced cloned robot?' he asked. 'How much ketamine are you on?' Much like the image of Musk earlier, the one of Trump shifted to show a wet patch appearing around the groin. 'A lot,' Stewart concluded.
