A fit and healthy 28-year-old gave up trying to get to the bottom of his symptoms with his GP just months before being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after a trip to A&E. Dan Godley started getting tightness in his abdomen in July 2020.
Dan, a data manager, was sent to have an ultrasound to investigate through his employer’s private medical care, but the scan turned up nothing. He changed jobs, and it wasn’t until May 2021 that his symptoms began to worsen.
Dan visited his GP, who referred him for blood tests, all of which came back negative. Dan was informed of the results by text. Despite the negative results, his symptoms were worsening. That text ended the line of communication with his doctor about the issue, so each time he rang his GP he would have to explain all over again, CheshireLive reports.
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Dan said this was incredibly disheartening, and he gave up trying. In October 2021 his symptoms became unbearable. He says he experienced abdominal pain that was so intense that he was struggling to breathe. He went to A&E and underwent many procedures, including a PET scan, but it took several weeks until he was told he had a tumour on his pancreas.
Dan said “The diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was such a shock to everyone. Particularly because of my age and my good health. The cyst growing on my pancreas had got so large that it blocked the bile duct off, resulting in jaundice.
“Without the cyst growing to this size and causing other problems with my body, I would have probably not been diagnosed until the cancer had spread beyond the pancreas.
Dan cannot currently undergo surgery due to the proximity of the tumour to a major artery. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy in the hope the tumour will shrink away from the artery.
He added: “The symptoms of pancreatic cancer are not well-known, but I am proof that it can happen to anyone. With increased awareness around the symptoms and better training in GPs, it’s my hope that we can improve the survival rates of pancreatic cancer sufferers.”
Charity Pancreatic Cancer Action says just 10 per cent of the 10,500 annual UK pancreatic cases are diagnosed in time for life-saving surgery. The charity blames the ‘overworked and overstretched’ GP workforce for the bleak figures, and has called on the government to keep its promise of delivering 6,000 extra GPs in England.
Joe Kirwin, CEO of Pancreatic Cancer Action said: ”Our PCAM campaign #MISSED was developed to raise awareness of all the missed pancreatic cancer diagnoses that have had huge, irrevocable impacts on people’s lives. Symptoms were missed, and now thousands of families are missing their loved ones. If detected earlier, many pancreatic cancer sufferers could survive – but it all starts with education.
The charity has devised an accredited e-learning cause for GPs in order to improve diagnoses. Mr Kirwin continued: “Over 7,000 GPs in the UK have completed our e-learning – but this simply isn’t enough – we need every GP in the UK to have completed our training (there are over 45,000 GPs nationally) if we have any hope of improving the bleak statistics of pancreatic cancer survival and life beyond pancreatic cancer.
“With early diagnosis, pancreatic cancer can be survived. For those diagnosed in time for potentially life-saving surgery, 5-year survival increases to around 30%. This presents an opportunity for intervention where people can be diagnosed earlier and live longer with a better quality of life.”
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Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
