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HIDDEN KILLER
Mum died after learning the true cause of her back pain – the deadliest cancer that kills HALF its victims within weeks
Would you know the signs of the UK's deadliest cancer? We reveal the symptoms you must never ignore
GILL Nibbs was a “vibrant” woman who lived a seemingly perfectly healthy lifestyle.
“She walked everywhere, didn’t smoke or drink, and wasn’t overweight,” her daughter Lucy tells Sun Health.
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So why did she die just months after being told she had pancreatic cancer?
Her diagnosis simply came too late.
And she’s not alone. Half of all patients with the condition die within three months of being given the devastating news.
Cancer of the pancreas - a gland located in the abdomen - kills nearly 10,000 people in the UK every year.
MORE ON PANCREATIC CANCER
That’s almost as many as breast cancer (11,500), despite the latter affecting more than 10 times as many people.
By the time Gill was diagnosed, it was too late for life-saving surgery.
But she managed to hang on just long enough to give her new granddaughter a hello, and goodbye, kiss.
Lucy, a mum-of-three from Essex, is now determined to build a future where as many people as possible have the chance to survive this devastating disease.
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She says: “I just wish we were aware of the symptoms.
“If we had recognised it earlier, mum may still be here.”
A grandpa has been forced to eat just one meal a day to make his lifesaving medicine last
Gill’s story began nearly five years before her pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
She had her thyroid removed after a previous cancer diagnosis, but seemed to recover well.
“We thought everything was going to be OK as it wasn’t that serious,” Lucy, 42, says.
Life returned to normal until she was “unexpectedly” diagnosed with type 1 diabetes - when blood sugar levels are too high because the body can’t make the hormone insulin.
“She was so healthy, so it was such a shock,” Lucy, a part-time administrator, says.
“She wasn’t overweight, didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, and walked everywhere. None of us understood why it happened.
“Doctors suggested it could be due to hormonal imbalances connected to her thyroid removal, but there was no clear explanation.”
It was the hardest moment of my life, but her strength and humour in the face of adversity was incredible
Lucy Nibbs
Despite following medical advice, her mother’s health deteriorated, with alarming weight loss and uncontrolled blood sugar levels.
In the next few months, these symptoms worsened, but they were repeatedly attributed to diabetes.
It wasn’t until her back pain became unbearable that Lucy and her whole family pushed for further tests.
“I had a gut feeling something was terribly wrong,” Lucy recalls.
“She never complained, but we could tell she felt terrible. Her blood sugar levels were out of control, despite doing everything right, and she began to lose weight rapidly.
“She made light of her weight loss, joking about it, but it was clear she wasn’t well.
“It wasn’t until she admitted she couldn’t get off the toilet that I knew something was seriously wrong.
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“She was very private about such things, so for her to disclose this meant she was very unwell.
“She had lost about two stone by this point and had been seeing doctors, who attributed everything to her diabetes.
“Her persistent weight loss and frequent bathroom visits were brushed off.
“However, when her back pain became unbearable, we knew it was time to push for more answers.
“I kept seeing news articles about pancreatic cancer, and her symptoms matched everything I had read.”
WORST FEARS CONFIRMED
In March 2011, after medics “finally listened”, Lucy’s worst fears were confirmed.
Her mum, an optical technician, had advanced cancer that had spread to her liver and possibly her brain, and there was nothing doctors could do.
“They asked about her lifestyle, and she told them she didn’t drink or smoke,” Lucy says.
“The doctor suggested her stressful life might have been a factor, considering the constant fluctuations in her hormone levels.”
The news devastated the family, but her mother, ever strong-willed, carried on with her life, even offering to go to work the day after receiving her diagnosis.
Gill chose not to undergo chemotherapy, preferring to avoid prolonged suffering.
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer
PANCREATIC cancer doesn't always cause symptoms in its early stages.
As the cancer grows and you do begin to show signs, these may come and go and be unspecific, making it hard to diagnose.
However, you can be on the lookout for:
- Indigestion - a painful, burning feeling in your chest with an unpleasant taste in your mouth
- Tummy or back pain - it may start as general discomfort or tenderness in the tummy area and spread to the back, which get worse lying down and feel better is you sit forward
- Diarrhoea and constipation - see a GP if you have runny poos for more than seven days, especially if you've lost weight as well
- Steatorrhoea - pale, oily poo that's bulky, smells horrible and floats, making it hard to flush
- Losing a lot of weight without meaning to
- Jaundice - yellow skin and eyes, as well as dark pee, pale poo and itchy skin
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer
PANCREATIC cancer doesn't always cause symptoms in its early stages.
As the cancer grows and you do begin to show signs, these may come and go and be unspecific, making it hard to diagnose, according to .
Common symptoms include:
- Indigestion - a painful, burning feeling in your chest with an unpleasant taste in your mouth
- Tummy or back pain - it may start as general discomfort or tenderness in the tummy area and spread to the back, which get worse lying down and feel better is you sit forward
- Diarrhoea and constipation - see a GP if you have runny poos for more than seven days, especially if you've lost weight as well
- Steatorrhoea - pale, oily poo that's bulky, smells horrible and floats, making it hard to flush
- Losing a lot of weight without meaning to
- Jaundice - yellow skin and eyes, as well as dark pee, pale poo and itchy skin
During her final months, she was cared for at the Hospice of Saint Francis in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, where she received what the family described as exceptional care.
Though her condition worsened, she managed to share precious moments with her relatives, including a beautiful blessing ceremony with her partner, John, just days after celebrating her birthday.
Gill even wore a wedding dress in her hospice bed.
In a bittersweet turn of events, Lucy, who had been pregnant this whole time, gave birth to her daughter, Lottie, on July 27, 2011.
“After a difficult labour, I went straight to the hospice to show her to my mum,” she says.
“She was very weak but managed to touch and kiss Lottie. Mum had held on to life just long enough to see her new granddaughter.”
Just five days later, on August 1, 2011, grandmother-of-seven Gill died surrounded by her family aged 57.
'The hardest moment of my life'
“I knew it was time,” Lucy says.
“I sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow to her as she passed away peacefully and without pain,” Lucy, also mum to Jessica, who was eight at the time, and Julia, who turned six on the day her grandmother died, says.
“It was the hardest moment of my life, but her strength and humour in the face of adversity was incredible.
“Despite the pain and sadness, I find comfort in knowing she is at peace.”
But she and her family don’t want other families to have to go through the same, potentially avoidable pain.
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
It can affect anyone of any age, and it occurs equally in men and women.
Unfortunately, it has a five-year survival rate of just 7.3 per cent.
That’s because symptoms can be vague, and often mask as something else entirely. The most common signs include:
- Bloating
- Pain (usually in the abdomen or back)
- Digestive problems (e.g. poor appetite, indigestion, nausea)
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)
- Diarrhoea, constipation or both
- Unexplained weight loss
- Tenderness, swelling or pain caused by a blood clot
- A diabetes diagnosis
If you are concerned, speak to your GP, and don’t be afraid to push for answers.
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A spokesperson for the charity says: “When the symptoms of pancreatic cancer are missed, everything is missed - early diagnosis, life-saving treatment, and precious moments with loved ones.
“Every month, over 800 UK families experience the often unexpected and devastating loss of a loved one to pancreatic cancer.
“Those who die from the disease are missed every single day.
“Pancreatic cancer symptoms are too often missed.
“Know the symptoms because when they’re missed, precious moments will be missed forever.
“Know the symptoms because your doctor might not.”
Type 1 vs type 2 diabetes
There are two main types of diabetes, which causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high.
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition where the body's immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce the hormone insulin.
It affects around 344,000 people in the UK.
Type 2 diabetes on the other hand is far more common, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the 4.4million adults with diabetes.
It occurs when the body doesn't produce enough insulin, or the body's cells don't react to it properly.
There are no lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk of type 1 diabetes.
But you may be at higher risk of type 2 diabetes if you are overweight or obese, eat unhealthily, have a family history of the condition, take certain medications for a long time, have high blood pressure, and have had gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
People of Asian, Black African or African Caribbean origin are also at increased risk.
Source: NHS and Diabetes UK
They add: "Just under 40 per cent of all pancreatic cancer patients will receive a diagnosis of diabetes before their cancer is discovered. In some cases, this us up to three years earlier.
";In 2022, Pancreatic Cancer Action successfully campaigned for changes to the system.
"Today, anyone aged 60 and above, presenting with weight loss and new-onset diabetes, will automatically be screened for pancreatic cancer.
"The charity is now fighting for the age to be lowered.
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"This is why World Cancer Day on February 4 is so important to recognise that with more funding and perseverance in research, improvements are continuing, and one day, we will beat cancer."
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