Latest news with #pancreaticcancer
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson honoured with train tribute
A legendary musician will have a train named in his honour, a rail operator Johnson, the guitarist for 1970s pub-rock band Dr Feelgood before a long solo career, was born on Canvey Island, Essex.c2c, which runs trains across the south of the county, said Dr Feelgood was a "cultural icon of the Essex, London and UK music scene".The new nameplate is due to be revealed later, when a train will carry passengers - including live music - from Southend Central to London Fenchurch Street. Johnson was known for his distinctive, finger-picked style that blended percussive stabs and fluid licks, allowing him to play lead and rhythm guitar at the same was given 10 months to live in 2012 when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but was given the all-clear after radical surgery in musician lived in Southend-on-Sea in his later years and he died in 2022.A spokesman for c2c said the firm was working on the train event with Jonathan Maitland, who has written the upcoming West End show, Wilko. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Mom, 24, Alleges Docs Refused to Test Her Tumor: 'They Didn't Think Somebody My Age Would Have Pancreatic Cancer'
Kanisha Collins, 24, alleges her doctors didn't test a mass on her pancreas, telling her she was too young for pancreatic cancer The mom of a toddler was in the midst of planning her wedding when she was told that she had stage four pancreatic cancer that was "incurable" PEOPLE has reached out to Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Weston Park Hospital for commentA mom who alleges she was told she's too young for pancreatic cancer has been given a bleak, "incurable" diagnosis — and now she's trying to make memories with her toddler and husband before she dies. Kanisha Collins, 24, sought care at the UK's Chesterfield Royal Hospital in December, she told Daily Mail in an article published on Thursday, June 5. her medical team was communicating with cancer specialists at Weston Park Hospital, and the consensus was that she had pancreatitis — an inflammation of the pancreas that can cause nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain. PEOPLE has reached out to Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Weston Park Hospital for comment. A representative for the hospital told The Daily Mail that internal reviews are "already underway." Kanisha told the outlet that this past February, May 30, a scan showed a mass on her pancreas and a blood clot, but her medical team still said she had pancreatitis. 'They wouldn't test the mass on my pancreas, because they didn't think somebody my age would have pancreatic cancer,' Kanisha alleged, claiming she was told the mass was 'benign.' But as she explains, the pain got worse — and she was rushed back to the hospital for more tests; On May 19, she was given the heartbreaking news that she had stage four pancreatic cancer that had spread to her liver and was 'incurable.' Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating cancers because it usually doesn't exhibit symptoms until it's too far advanced for effective treatment. As Pancreatic Cancer Action Network explains, even when it's discovered only in the pancreas, the five-year survival rate is 44%. For all types of pancreatic cancer, including if it has spread, the five-year survival rate is 13%. 'I felt discriminated against because I was so young,' Kanisha told the outlet. She'd been in the midst of planning her wedding and celebrating her daughter Amaya's second birthday, but now she says "I feel heartbroken.' 'I have a 2-year-old daughter at home," she said. "I get married on Saturday and I had all that to look forward to in the future.' Her father, Dean, has started a GoFundMe to support Amaya in the future and help Kanisha and her husband Mason build memories — all while paying for cancer treatment. 'I'm on chemo. I'm tired, so it's hard, but I suppose I've got to look for the positive side, that the chemo will shrink enough to give me many years down the line,' she said. 'We're all staying positive about it and hoping that treatment will shrink my tumors enough to give me a few years.' But as Dean bleakly wrote in the GoFundMe, "Amaya will grow up without her mummy by her side through her childhood, teenage years, and adult life. The pain of this loss is unimaginable for our family." As Dean told Daily Mail, 'My aim now is to bring further awareness out there, with regards to cancer, because there's loads of people out there who have experienced it … people just don't seem to be wanting to to push it further forward, to do further tests, purely because she was young.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I was told by TWO hospitals that I had gallstones when I actually had stage four cancer... now I won't get to see my little girl grow up
A mother whose gallstones turned out to be stage-four cancer has blasted doctors for waiting five months to test a mass on her pancreas. When Kanisha Collins, 24, was diagnosed with pancreatitis at Royal Chesterfield Hospital in December, she didn't think to question their expert judgment. After all, they were in close contact with a team of specialists over at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield, one of just four dedicated cancer centres in the UK. And the coalition of doctors persistently stuck to its guns, even after a second CT scan in February showed a persistent mass on her pancreas and a worsening blood clot. But then the pain got worse. Rushed to hospital just weeks after being told the mass was 'benign', Kanisha, who has a two-year-old daughter, was hit with the discovery of lesions on her liver and the news that staff would finally be performing a biopsy. On May 19, she was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer which had spread to the liver, after months of doctors insisting she was too young to be struck with the illness. A day after starting chemotherapy at Weston Park, Kanisha, whose father Dean has raised more than £4,000 for her family on GoFundMe, told MailOnline she blamed specialists at both hospitals for acting too slowly to spot her, now incurable, cancer. She told MailOnline: 'This was all because they wouldn't test the mass on my pancreas, because they didn't think somebody my age would have pancreatic cancer. 'I've been failed by both hospitals in a way, but I feel like my consultant could have done more at the time. 'The reason they didn't was because of my age. Unfortunately, when they told me [I had cancer] it was too late and incurable. 'Absolutely [I feel let down]. Cancer [diagnoses] should never [be based] off somebody's age. 'It should always be tested, no matter what, no matter how old you are, it should be tested from the get go and not left because they think you're too young. 'I felt discriminated against because I was so young. My kind of cancer is actually genetic and my daughter has to be tested down the line.' Before her diagnosis, Kanisha's life had been gathering pace. Her daughter Amaya had just turned two and she was about to get married to her partner Mason. The wedding had long been in the diary for this Saturday, but no one could ever have anticipated it would fall at the end of her first week of chemotherapy. 'I feel heartbroken, because obviously I have a two-year-old daughter at home,' she said. 'I get married on Saturday and I had all that to look forward to in the future. 'But that's been cut short unfortunately.' Sitting by her side during her first night of chemo, her father Dean chimed in: 'They're getting married on Saturday, which was planned last year, but cancer wasn't planned. 'The idea is, once they've got married, to go to the sit down meal. Then once we've done that, I'll take her back home so she can have a rest before coming back to spend a bit of time with the evening guests. 'She's going to have a break in between all that to recharge her batteries.' Kanisha's chemotherapy battle is in its early days, but her stoicism in the wake of her life being turned upside down has taken even her parents by surprise. 'Before all this, I was a fit and healthy person and now I can barely do day-to-day walking tasks, because I just get out of breath,' she said. 'I'm on chemo, I'm tired, so it's hard, but I suppose I've got to look for the positive side, that the chemo will shrink enough to give me many years down the line. 'We're all staying positive about it and hoping that treatment will shrink my tumours enough to give me a few years.' Her father added: 'She actually seems stronger than both me and her mum. She's got to be strong for herself and for her daughter and partner.' Dean reacted to Kanisha's diagnosis by setting up a Gofundme, drawing on his experience looking after his sister, who died with cancer, as well as the writing skills of his older daughter's boyfriend, to create an already-flying donation page. The fundraiser earned £4,000 in its first 24 hours, receiving more than 150 donations. Its aims are two-fold: to give Kanisha the opportunity to enjoy what time she has left with her daughter, and to help her soon-to-be husband in the tough times ahead. The Gofundme's soaring success has been a rare source of positivity for the mother, following an incredibly difficult five months. She said: 'It's just to give myself and my family a good holiday and to make those lasting memories. And to not have to worry about the financial side of things, so we can do things as a family. 'At the moment, unfortunately, I'm not able to fly due to the fact I'm on intense chemotherapy, but my main goal is a nice family holiday down in Cornwall. It's always been my favourite place to go since being a little girl. 'And just being able to show my daughter the other parts of England that I've been able to see. 'Eventually after my chemo, if it is successful, I would like to take her on that family holiday abroad, if it is possible. That's my main goal. 'It's for my daughter's future as well, just so I know she's going to have a good life.' Dean added: 'The frustrating thing about it is [the delay in diagnosis]. It was a catalogue of errors between the two hospitals. That's how it seems to me. 'One set not talking to the other and then the other people just don't seem to be wanting to to push it further forward, to do further tests, purely because she was young. 'So my aim now is to bring further awareness out there, with regards to cancer, because there's loads of people out there who have experienced it.' Dr Hal Spencer, Chief Executive of Chesterfield Royal Hospital said: 'We always strive to give the best care, and we are sorry to hear of Kanisha's experience. 'Throughout, her care has always been considered seriously, and we have consulted with regional specialist colleagues who were advising us on her care and management. 'We would encourage Kanisha and her family to contact us, and we will support them in a full review of her care in order that we can understand the decisions taken and the management advice given. 'This will help inform our internal reviews already underway.' here.
The Guardian
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
UK shortage of critical drug forcing pancreatic cancer patients to skip meals
People with pancreatic cancer are eating only one meal a day because of an acute shortage of a drug that helps them digest their food. Patients with cystic fibrosis and pancreatitis are also affected by the widespread scarcity of Creon, a form of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). People who rely on the drug have also been taking reduced doses to conserve their supplies and travelling more than 30 miles from their home to find it, pharmacists revealed today. Thousands of people with pancreatic cancer need to take PERT tablets and those hit by the shortage are suffering 'distress and frustration', the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK said. The difficulties the Creon shortage is causing patients emerged today in a survey of 300 pharmacies undertaken by the National Pharmacy Association. Almost all – 96% – are struggling to get enough of the medication to meet demand. 'As this distressing survey shows, ongoing supply problems with Creon have had a profound effect on the patients who depend on it to survive and lead a normal life', said Olivier Picard, the chair of the NPA. 'It simply cannot be right that in the 21st-century patients are skipping meals in order to ration their medication. 'Medicine shortages not only cause huge inconvenience but can risk serious patient safety issues, particularly in the case of PERTs, including Creon,' he added. Pancreatic cancer patients who either do not take a PERT or take too small a dose of it can become too sick to have surgery, which is the only potentially curative treatment for the condition, the NPA explained. They may also be less able to withstand the rigours of having chemotherapy and struggle to manage the symptoms of their condition, which can affect their quality of life. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that the scarcity of Creon in the UK is part of a Europe-wide shortage linked to a lack of the ingredients used to make it and 'manufacturing capacity constraints'. Creon has been in short supply for at least a year. The DHSC last week extended the two serious shortage protocols that have already been in place for it since May last year, covering 10,000 and 25,000 capsule formulations of Creon, until 21 November this year. The protocols are official notifications of a medication being hard to obtain, which allow pharmacists to give patients a smaller quantity of a drug than they usually receive. Alfie Bailey-Bearfield, head of influencing and health improvement at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: 'These deeply worrying findings echo the distress and frustration we are hearing from patients and their loved ones across the UK. 'Thousands of people affected by pancreatic cancer rely on taking PERT tablets every time they eat simply to digest their food and absorb nutrients, something most of us take for granted. 'It's totally unacceptable that they are taking desperate measures which put their health, wellbeing and their eligibility for treatment at risk,' he added. One pharmacist said the Creon scarcity was the 'worst stock shortage' they have ever dealt with. Pancreatic Cancer UK called on ministers to buy supplies of Creon directly from countries that have a surplus in order to tackle the shortage in Britain. A DHSC spokesperson said: 'We know how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be for patients and the clinicians caring for them. 'The European-wide supply issues with Creon are caused by a limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints. 'We are working closely with industry and the NHS to mitigate the impact on patients and resolve the issues as quickly as possible.'
Medscape
01-06-2025
- Business
- Medscape
Tumor Treating Fields Boost Pancreatic Cancer Survival
The addition of low-intensity electric tumor treating fields (TTFields) therapy to first-line standard chemotherapy was associated with significantly improved overall survival in a phase 3 trial for patients with unresectable, locally advanced, pancreatic adenocarcinoma (LA-PAC). The PANOVA-3 trial 'establishes tumor treating fields with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel as a potential new standard treatment paradigm for unresectable, locally advanced pancreatic cancer,' reported Vincent J. Picozzi, MD, first author of the new research, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2025 Annual Meeting. The new study, which was simultaneously published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology , is the first phase 3 trial to show an overall survival (OS) benefit for any treatment added to standard chemotherapy in this patient population, where the current 5-year OS rate is less than 8%, said Picozzi in his presentation. TTFields is a non-invasive therapy that delivers electricity to the tumor site via a wearable device and transducer arrays placed on the skin. The electric fields 'disrupt processes critical for cancer cell division and may do a variety of other things, such as trigger an enhanced anti-tumor response,' he explained. The therapy has already been approved in the United States and Europe for use in various cancers, including glioblastomas, metastatic pleural mesothelioma, and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study Methods The open-label study, conducted across 20 countries and 196 sites, included 571 patients with unresectable, locally advanced, biopsy-confirmed, and previously untreated pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Participants had a life expectancy of at least 3 months and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) of 0-2. The patients (median age 67 years, 47.6% male) were randomly assigned to receive only gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 and nab-paclitaxel 125 mg/m2 by intravenous infusion once a day on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle (n = 286), or the same chemotherapy plus TTFields (n = 285). Patients wore the devices about 15 hours per day for about 28 weeks on average. Notably, almost 30% of the patients were non-White, almost 4% were ECOG PS 2, 'and perhaps most importantly, almost 30% had CA 19-9 levels greater than 1000, suggesting a high incidence of occult, unrecognized metastatic disease,' said Picozzi, a hematologist-oncologist and director of the Pancreaticobiliary Program at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Follow-up visits were every 4 weeks, with chest, abdomen, and brain CT or MRI performed every 8 weeks to assess disease progression. Study Results After a median follow-up of about 13 months, the primary endpoint of OS was statistically improved in the TTFields arm compared with controls (16.2 vs 14.2 months, hazard ratio [HR] 0.82, P = .039), and the 1-year survival rate was similarly better (68.1% vs 60.2%; P = .029). There was no significant difference between groups in median progression-free survival (PFS), at 10.6 vs 9.3 months, respectively. However, the 1-year PFS rate was higher in the TTFields arm (43.9% vs 34.1%, P = .026). 'Perhaps somewhat surprisingly,' a post-hoc analysis showed a statistically significant benefit to TTFields in distant PFS, Picozzi said. Importantly, TTFields showed benefit in quality of life. 'In pain-free survival, another secondary endpoint — which really is freedom from progression of pain over time — we see a very distinct difference' (median 15.2 vs 9.1 months, 1-year pain-free survival rate 54.1% vs 45.1%), he reported. 'Pain is a common and debilitating morbidity in patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma and a predictor of survival. Thus, by mitigating cancer pain, TTFields may preserve the quality of life of patients with LA-PAC, further supporting TTFields' utility as first-line treatment of this disease,' the authors write in the paper. Patients also performed quality-of-life analyses using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire, along with the pancreatic cancer–specific PAN26 addendum, 'and using these tools, there was an improvement in deterioration of global health status, pain, and digestive problems,' said Picozzi. Most serious adverse events (SAEs), occurring in 53.6% of the TTFields arm and 48% of controls, were related to chemotherapy or the underlying disease, and were not device-related, the authors wrote. The most common SAEs, which were relatively balanced between arms, were sepsis (6.9% TTFields vs 9.5% controls), cholangitis (5.8% vs 3.7%), bile duct obstruction (5.5% vs 3.3%), and pneumonia (5.1% vs 3.3%), which is a toxicity profile expected for gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel, Picozzi said. Most device-related AEs were mild-to-moderate skin reactions, consistent with previous trials of TTFields, and could be managed with topical steroids and calcineurin cream. In total, 23 patients (8.4%) had device-related AEs leading to TTFields discontinuation, while discontinuation of chemotherapy due to chemotherapy-related AEs occurred in 17.2% in the TTFields group and 15.8% of controls. Pros and Cons of the Device Study discussant Brian M. Wolpin, MD, a medical oncologist and director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, said, 'Assuming appropriate regulatory approvals, I think the combination of the survival increase and quality-of-life benefits suggests this could be an approach that we could use in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.' But 'there are some lifestyle constraints of wearing the device 18 hours a day continuously for months,' he noted. Wolpin's comments also raised the question of whether TTFields could be combined with other first-line choices for LA-PAC, and pointed out that some oncologists treat locally advanced disease with chemotherapy other than gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel. 'Many of the newer trials have now started to use multi-agent chemotherapy, many different chemotherapy programs, and different lengths of of these trials have used radiation, some have not,' he said. Indeed, the addition of radiation to first-line chemotherapy for LA-PAC is 'very, very routine' in the United States, Michael Chuong, MD, told Medscape Medical News . Nevertheless, Chuong, a professor of radiation oncology at Florida International University in Miami and medical director of radiation oncology at Miami Cancer Institute, called PANOVA-3's results exciting. 'The use of chemotherapy, plus any other non-chemo treatment, has never before shown a survival difference,' he said. 'For example, randomized trials of chemotherapy, plus or minus definitive radiation therapy, showed only differences in local control. I would say [this trial] definitely is going to lead to this becoming a standard-of-care option now. Whether all patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer should be getting this remains to be seen.' He said the trial's ad hoc finding of statistically significant benefit for TTFields in distant PFS — but not local PFS — suggests that TTFields may be most effective at delaying metastasis. 'If it's delaying onset of liver and peritoneal disease, which almost every one of these patients will ultimately develop, that's huge,' he said, adding that the trial's high number of participants with CA 19-9 levels greater than 1000 suggested a certain amount of metastatic disease in the cohort. Other TTFields Research Is Ongoing Chuong is conducting a single-arm, phase 2 study in the same type of population. In his study, TTFields is being combined with stereotactic ablative body radiation (SABR) in the first-line setting, and he has hypothesized that this will delay metastasis. 'From a mechanistic standpoint, this is a treatment that's applied to the entirety of the abdomen. These low electrical fields are delivered to the peritoneum, into the liver, and that's where the predominant site of distant metastatic disease is in these patients.' The study was funded by Novocure GmbH. Picozzi disclosed stock and other ownership interests in Amgen, Cigna, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, McKesson, and Thermo Fisher; a scientific consulting or advisory role with Revolution Medicines, TriSalus Life Sciences; and research funding from AbbVie, Amal Therapeutics, Astellas Pharma, FibroGen, Ipsen, and NovoCureBrian. Wolpin disclosed a consulting or advisory role with Agenus, BeiGene, EcoR1 Capital, Harbinger Health, Ipsen, Mirati Therapeutics, Revolution Medicines, Tango Therapeutics, and Third Rock Ventures; and research funding from Amgen (Inst), AstraZeneca (Inst), Harbinger Health (Inst), Lilly (Inst), Novartis (Inst), and Revolution Medicines (Inst). Chuong disclosed funding from Novocure, Viewray, and Stratpharma.
