Falkirk mum calls for more support for pancreatic cancer patients after husband dies three months after diagnosis

As Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month draws to a close, Fiona Robertson is sharing her family’s story after husband Gordon died two years ago, aged only 58, only weeks after his diagnosis.

Gordon tried to get seen in-person by a medical professional for months after he began to experience symptoms such as pain in his abdomen and trouble eating. He was misdiagnosed twice, and sent home from A&E, before he was sent for a CT scan which revealed he had pancreatic cancer.

Like Gordon, more than half of people with pancreatic cancer die within three months of diagnosis. Currently, no screening or early detection tests exist to help doctors diagnose the disease and its vague symptoms - such as back pain, unexpected weight loss and indigestion - are also common to many less serious conditions.

Tragically, like Gordon, 80 per cent of people are not diagnosed until after the disease has spread.

This Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, charity Pancreatic Cancer UK has launched its More than Hope campaign, urging the public to stand alongside them and Fiona to demand more for people diagnosed with the disease. Just three per cent of the UK’s total cancer research budget is spent on pancreatic cancer. Decades of underfunding has stifled progress in delivering earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments.

Around the end of March 2022 Gordon began feeling full quickly after eating. He soon had an itchy back, headaches and pain in his abdomen which became worse when on his first cruise holiday with Fiona. Upon his return to the UK, he had his first GP appointment on May 27 where he was sent to have blood tests. The doctor suggested he had a stomach infection and gave him antibiotics, but his symptoms worsened.

Fiona, 60, said: “He kept going back to the doctors, but nothing was happening, nothing was helping, and the pain was now going through to his back. He had also begun to lose weight – over a stone, so we were desperately trying to organise him seeing someone in person. Instead, he had another phone appointment and another set of antibiotics.”

The pain had become so bad,Amy, Gordon and Fiona’s daughter, took him to A&E where he was left waiting in pain for seven hours. When he was seen, the nurse was concerned that Gordon had taken a paracetamol overdose. He was sent home with indigestion medicine and was not booked in for any further investigations.

Fiona said: “The nurse never thought to ask why he needed to take so much paracetamol. He wasn’t able to work due to the pain. We started going to the doctors more, pleading with them – Gordon ended up calling them at least ten times.”

Fiona was desperate for answers. After a new doctor diagnosed Gordon with the same stomach infection he’d already taken antibiotics for, she turned to Google.

Fiona said: “I was at my wits end. No one was providing us with any information or plans to move forward. I Googled all his symptoms, and I told Gordon that I thought he may have pancreatic cancer. He said “don't say that, don't say that” but by this point he'd lost more than two stone in weight. I knew he was seriously unwell.

“We got desperate, so we paid for a private scan. The next day, Amy went to the doctors with her dad with a copy of the scan report. They were hoping they could see a doctor, but the receptionist just said she would add it to his file and let the doctor know. I went to doctors when I finished work. Gordon couldn’t face going back down, he was in so much pain.

“Amy was with me, and we again asked the receptionist if I could speak to a doctor. I was told no appointments were available. By this time, I was very angry; I wasn’t abusive, but I did raise my voice and said fine I’ll sit here until I see a doctor. I was told they were within their rights to phone the police to remove me.

"At that point, the practice manager appeared and told me to lower my voice. I went through it all again with him. He told me ‘if you think your husband is dying take him to A&E there's nothing we can do for him here’. I was so shocked at his response and I’m still so angry. I don’t think that anger will ever go away. I thought doctors had a duty of care. I did apologise to the receptionist for raising my voice but the situation we were in was a disgrace.”

Finally, Gordon was given an appointment for a scan on August 18. Eight days later, the family were told that he had pancreatic cancer which had spread to his lungs, meaning it was incurable. Gordon was offered chemo, but he decided against it.

Fiona said: “He had seen what I went through following my breast cancer diagnosis, I was very ill with chemo. He said he wanted to make the most of the time he had left rather than be unwell. One of the worst parts is that he had already spent months being unwell, suffering in severe pain with nothing but paracetamol to try and comfort him.”

Gordon was determined to make it to Amy’s graduation on November 22, as he was so proud of her achievements. He managed to get himself there but when he got home, he never got back out of bed. He died a few weeks later, on December 7, 2022.

Fiona said: “Gordon aged decades in months – he looked like a wee old man. I don't want anybody else to go through this traumatic experience. It's scared me quite a lot. Doctors need to be aware of these red flag symptoms, scans need to be easier to access and a test must be developed. Even if patients can’t always be saved, knowing what’s wrong with them will ease their minds and they’d be able to receive sufficient pain medication that would make whatever time they have left more comfortable.”

You can join Fiona and demand more for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer by adding your name here

Diana Jupp, CEO of Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “For far too long, people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have had little more than hope to hold onto. They deserve more. We are calling on the public to help us make more noise so we can change the story for those affected and see more people survive long and well following a diagnosis.

“Survival rates have barely changed since the 1970s. Please, stand with us when we say enough is enough. Help us bring more research breakthroughs, more support through our Support Line, and more action as we campaign for those with no voice. Let’s make survival a reality for more people diagnosed with this devastating disease.”

Pancreatic Cancer UK recommends that anyone experiencing one or more of the most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer - back pain, indigestion, tummy pain and weight-loss – for more than four weeks should contact their GP. Anyone with jaundice (yellowing of the eyes or skin) should immediately go to A&E.