Ken Crawley has set up an online petition in order to get pancreatic cancer diagnosis debated in Parliament and needs 100,000 signatures by 14th November 2012 for this to happen. Ken says...”It is a scandal that almost 97% of people diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer die within 5 years. 22 people a day die from Pancreatic cancer. Earlier, clearer diagnosis would reduce this.
Two years ago, I hadn’t even heard of Pancreatic cancer. Then a life-long friend lost his wife to the disease. More recently a dear friend told me that she lost her husband also to Pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is the 5th leading cause of cancer death in the UK. Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival rate of all cancers. 5-year survival is only 3%. This figure has not changed in over 40 years while deaths from many other cancers declined.
Pancreatic cancer could be termed ‘The Hidden Killer’. Many of its symptoms mirror other less critical illnesses and therefore GPs often do not realise their significance. Symptoms can include jaundice, diabetes and gall stones and GPs may first treat these resulting in time being lost before the correct diagnosis is reached. By this time it can be too late to treat the cancer. This happened with both of my friends.
I have decided to try and change this and I have set up an e-petition online at
The aim is to have Pancreatic Cancer diagnosis debated in Parliament. To achieve this 100,000 signatures are needed. Nearly 300 signatures are needed each and every day to achieve this. The petition is available until 14 November 2012, which seems a long time but it will soon pass by. Pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment is a lottery. “
- Posted by Admin on January 25, 2012
When it is diagnosed early enough Cancer can be treated successfully. The NHS at it’s best is working and must be given the finances to continue. After early diagnosis at Scarborough and a Whipples operation at Castle Hill. I am Living proof!
Hi Stewart,
I also had the Whipples operation in April 2008,at that time i did not realise how serious my condition was,however,after reading several articles regarding Pancreatic Cancer i now realise how lucky i am to still be around.
I now experience severe stomache cramps on a regular basis,problems with my digestive system and bowel problems etc.
In December 2011 i was taken into hospital with severe stomache cramps and had to placed on a morphine drip for the pain.however this is better than the alternative.
How have you been coping ?
Charles Stages
My husband died of Pancreatic Cancer within 2 months of diagnosis in May 2010.
Unfortunately he was told by his GP after visiting him 4 times that it was infected Gall Stones.
It was only when we went to A&E and he was admitted, that various scans and tests were
carried out and Pancreatic Cancer was discovered.
People who are diagnosed early enough for treatment, are the lucky ones.
Please sign the e-petition, so GP’s are more aware, more money is available for research
and therefore enabling more dare I say it LUCKY ONES !! to have a fighting chance.
I only wish my Husband Gray could of had this chance, so please please help xx
Stewart Ibbotson has demonstrated that Pancreatic cancer can be successfully treated if promptly AND correctly diagnosed.
Since starting the e-petition I have spoken to quite a few people who have lost loved ones to this dreadful disease. Sadly the recurring experience has been similar to that described by Adele Pickering.
Please sign the petition if you haven’t already done so AND please text, phone, email and ‘tweet’ everyone you know and urge them to do the same (and to pass the message on to everyone they know too). We desparately need to change the status quo. To stand any chance, we need to get 100,000 signatures by 14 November 2012. At this moment we have 593. That is just short of two day’s worth. We now need about 320 signatures a day!
Please help many more people to have the same outcome as Stewart and make Adele’s sad experience a thing of the past.
Ken Crawley
Thanks for your comments Ken. Yes early diagnosis is vital, mine quickly changed from Gall-stones to Obstructive Jaundice by a Consultant at Scarborough this saved valuable days in the search for a cause. During my stay in Castle Hill after my operation I was visited by many Consultants using my case to educate young doctors in the signs and symptoms of Obstructive Jaundice. A sign of Cholangiocarcinoma(Bile duct cancer). Early detection of ALL Cancers is very important especially the less obvious ones. The fact that an ERCP found the lump means anyone with Sign’s and Symptoms of Jaundice should have one…
We are our own best doctor, we know when things are not right. I had a Whipple Operation in October 2007 and although I have side affects that render me out of action when they happen, it is still better than the alternative. Men in particular have to go to their GP at the first sign that something is wrong and if you are not satisfied get a second opinion. You should also speak out and tell the world and his dog what happened to you regarding the symptoms you have had and make more people aware of the signs of Cancer. You should seriously consider joining a Clinical Trial if you are offered one, I did and that also helps to publicise your condition and helps tremendously in the research.
As I stated before my late hubby went to his GP 4 times!! You are lucky that you had a Dr that was on the ball – so to speak !! and could have treatment !! That is why the petition is so important, so more Doctors are aware of the symptoms and people can get the help they need and deserve.
The phrase ‘post code lottery’ is regularly applied to the NHS and it certainly appears to be the case with Pancreatic cancer. Dennis is right in suggesting men need to go to their doctor at the first sign of anything wrong, but this is something that men are not very good with whatever the health risk.
The facts speak for themselves – 3% survival rate. Late diagnosis often due to the symptoms of other conditions which delay treatment and early death as a result. Clinical trails are valid, but there has to be an early correct diagnosis in the first place.
Nonetheless, Dennis Helsby’s experience like that of Stewart Ibbotson are encouraging and it should be the norm rather than the exception.
Yesterday the petition reached 1,000 signatures, so we are 1% of the way to our target, please remind all your friends, neighbours and colleagues about our petition.
Pancreatic cancer will claimed the lives of over 1,500 people since the petition was launched in November.
I lost my mother to this terrible cancer in 2011 23days after being told what she had. and the worst thing about it is more people will be lost also because of the lack of funding and research into Pancreatic cancer.
I sign here today to give others HOPE and a FIGHTING CHANCE
My dad died in 2005. He had been seem many times by the gp about gall stones but this all turned out to be pancreatic cancer which by the time it was diagnosed has spread to his liver. He only lasted one month after diagnosis.
We need more research and more awareness especially by GPs
My Dad died last May he had no chance of survival he might aswell have been shot in an execution this needs to change !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I lost my friend on xmas day with pancreatic cancer, she was only 50 her name was sue, she had so much to live for,
It’s been a while since I have been able to check in here again. Thank you Robert, Diane, Clare and Eileen for your posts. Your individual experiences are very similar to many I have been told about since starting the e-petition – short survival period, incorrect diagnosis and as Clare suggests, Pancreatic cancer is equivalent to a death sentence.
KenC
My dad has just been diagnosed after seeing three different GP’s and being in pain for the last two months. Reading all the symptoms of PC he has them all except the jaudice so why has it onlyjust been diagnosed!!!!
It is not only the NHS ,that miss diagnose, my dear late husband,was being treated privately ,and was told it was. Irritable bowel syndrome’ the weeks went by missing valuable time,until they diagnosed Pancreatic cancer , with only months of precious time to live, he was. Only 58 yrs old ,so tragic , Joan.
As Robert said, let’s give other’s HOPE and a FIGHTING CHANCE !! Please sign the e-petition and pass on to everyone you know.
My hubby Gray, like so many other’s had none.
We can’t let this dreadful illness, continue to take our loved ones so quickly and in such a devastating way.
My friend Ken is trying so hard to get to that magic number 100,000 !! Help please !! x x
I was diagnosed in oct last year after 9 months of going to doctors , hospital , kept telling me it was my colitis , but i knew it was’nt , by the time they dicovered it , it was too late , i was given a terminal prognosis ……… my gp and specialist apologised for not taking more notice of my symptoms ……. not good enough , this is peoples lifes they are gambling with . My dearly loved brother passed with it almost 3 years ago , i kept saying to my doctors that my symptoms mirrowed his , only to be made to feel paranoid . Please for the sake of others SIGN THIS PETITION and lets save our future generations .
Caterine, I’m so sorry to hear of your situation. This is so scandalous. Why can’t GPs take this seriously? Surely it should be routine to test for PC at the same time as testing to make sure their diagnosis – whatever it happens to be – is correct. I hate to talk about cost at a time like this, but It would surely be cost-effective for the NHS in the long run. MORE importantly, the personal cost of mis-diagnosis to you and many hundreds of others placed in the same position, not to mention all of your loved ones to is quite simply incalculable.
I realise this is a difficult time for you, but thank you very much for sharing your experience.
KenC
Interesting article re Diabetes drugs, my hubby Gray had been on Metformin for about 3 to 4 years.In the last few month’s before he was diagnosed with PC, his dosage was doubled to 2 tablets a day !. Graham alway’s thought he did not have Diabetes as he did not have any of the other symptons eg. thirst, blurring vision, weight loss etc.When he was told he had Pancreatic Cancer,he actually said to me that when they diagnosed Diabetes it was probably the start of PC. I am sorry but a lot of GP’s take the easy option and do not look for other answers, he never blamed his GP infact Gray felt sorry for him!!
I do I’m afraid, that’s why more training for GP’s and more research needs to be done in being able to detect PC earlier.
my heart goes out to everyone , i lost my mum Janet to this hideous disease august 11th 2011 within 7 weeks of being diagnosed , i dont know how long she had it for but do know in the december before i begged her to go to doctors as she was always tired and weak and losing weight as she had no appetite , i knew something wasnt right how i wish i had pushed harder , the doctors just put it down to stress as my father was in hospital and my brother battling leukemia so we accepted this , then a few months later put her on anti deppressants saying this was the problem , but as we now know most symtoms do not show till its too late , my mum became seriously jaundiced in june by then it was too late , things really need to change more has to be done i will help pus for signatures and bring awareness to this cancer in any way that i possibly can xxx
It’s heart-wrenching to read people’s experiences, remembering the nightmare of helplessly watching my dear dad Robert’s deterioration in the months following his [August 2006] PC diagnosis. By late April 2007, after rounds of chemotherapy which made him frail and sick had been stopped, he’d become mostly bedridden and barely eating. I still fight back tears thinking of the Sunday I was at my parents’ for the usual family meal and went upstairs to visit with Dad in bed. He was actually sitting up & looking more alive than usual, eager to hear all about the cancer remedies he knew i’d read about, then listened raptly as I explained the details. My [desperate] optimism must have been catching: at dinnertime, he rang downstairs for a second piece of pizza and more salad to be delivered up to him, and finished those off too. Later on, when I went up to hug him goodbye he was still bright-eyed, telling me he wanted to try the diet I’d recommended.
Even in hospital, where he was transferred not long after that, he managed to take enjoyment where he could – eg. the smells of certain flowers/fruits, requesting they be brought up to his nose so he could breathe in their aroma. He died there on June 1st 2007, a shockingly diminutive ghost of his former laughing, lively self.
I found your site as I was Google-mapping around Haslemere in ‘street view’, re-living visits to my Uncle David [Dad's only brother], Auntie Wendy and cousin James’ home ‘Stedlands’ – not far from where you are, on Scotland Lane – and thought The Crest Lodge looked interesting~! Turns out it’s much more than that…
I’ll definitely do what i can to publicize this worthy cause and help make this petition successful. Good luck and best wishes to you aLL! XO
My father died of pancreatic cancer many years ago and the first we knew of his illness was when he became jaundiced. By that time, it was too late! We watched him go from a healthy 11 stone to little more than 6 stone in a matter of months.
I heard also of the plight of Wendy through a relative of mine who knew her well and was told what a wonderful person she was – spending her last months crusading on behalf of other pancreatic cancer sufferers.
I whole-heartedly agree that there is a need for the publization of this condition and willingly add my name to the e petition trusting it will be a success.
I sign this petition in memory of my beloved mother who lost her 2 year battle with Pancreatic Cancer on 12th July 2011 after having a total pancreatectomy and 2 rounds of chemotherapy
Please sign this petition and let’s prevent others from loosing loved ones to this evil disease
I’ve just learned that someone else in my circle of friends has been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer and given 18 months (yeah!) please let us succeed.
I’m trying to help in anyway I can my mom found out she had it in oct 2010 was a very strong fighter fought so she could see me get marriend but a week after the wedding this past Friday she passed away from this horrible cancer.. If there’s anyway I can do anything i would love too these people need a better chance at surving and earlier ways to find what’s wrong with them. God bless
Hi Chris, we’re grateful for all the help we can get. If you can encourage even just one more person so sign the petition that would be great. Quite a few people are now emailing, ‘tweeting’ and messaging everyone they know (and quite a few they don’t) to spread the word about the petition.
I’m sorry to hear about your mum, but I’m sure you made her proud on your big day.
God bless.
My Husband was diagonosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent surgery lasting over 12 hours on the 16th April 2008.Following the surgery he has been left suffering with severe stomache cramps on occasions,problems with his bowel and also digestive problems.
He had the whipples operation,fingers crossed to date he is still alive and hoping for the best.
Karen Stages
I am lucky. I had a what I thought was a ‘night after’ tummy, but it stayed all day. I was in Australia, went hospita lto be checked. They gave me a blood test and an xray. They kept me in overnight given the much needed scan and ultra sound.
I will never forget that afternoon in August 2008 when I was told the news. We had caught it in time and back at home I had all but the head removed as well as my spleen.
All my freinds tell me that I was lucky that I fell ill in Australia.
After more than 3 years, at a check – up, they have found new activity in some lymph nodes.
I have to wait three months for another scan, before they will take action!
I had been diagnosed type 2 a couple of years earlier – was this the start ? Should all new type two have a scan?
Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us. I just shows that there can be a positive outcome and this is what we are campaigning for. It will give hope to people like Karen (above), encouragement to those of us who feel that the petition and the whole campaign is worthwhile and no room for excuses to those in the position to change the status quo.
I hope the good news continues for you.
Keith, I think it dreadful that you have a 3 month wait for a scan!! I believe you are referring to type 2 diabetes? If so as I have stated before, in my late hubby Grays case when he was diagnosed with diabetes, was it the start of PC.
I wish you all the best and please help us with the fight to get this cancer more widely recognised.