How long was it from reporting your (... - Pancreatic Cancer...
How long was it from reporting your (or your partner's/friend's) first symptoms to your GP to a referral to a specialist doctor?
it was after he was diagnosed we had problems getting treatment
I was going to and fro to my GPs for around 6 months , and i more or less had to encourage them for a referal to see a specialist , i was sent to see a doctor for gastric problems , they kept telling me it was my colitis , i have had this condition for 10 years so i knew myself that it was'nt that , eventually i was sent for a ct scan which showed nothing untoward , and told to come back 3 months later for a follow up scan ( just to be sure , as they said ), the follow up scan showed something not right on my lung , so i was sent for a pet scan , it was that that detected a mass on my pancreas, and the lung showed no sign of cancer . so from going to gps to diagnosis it was 10 months . Cath x
My husbands GP never referred him to a specialist - kept giving indigestion mixture and after six months he reluctantly referred him for a CT scan with a six month waiting list. Despite pressure he would not mark as urgent so we paid privately. Got the diagnosis there and then spread to the liver too and dead in 12 weeks. Surveys don't give accurate results if the questions can be misinterpreted - GPs may have referred to a specialist but WHAT specialist a vet would probably have been better in my husbands case.
My Dad was five days in hospital before diagnosis and prognosis, eleven weeks from the end. It took just two hours to be referred from his admittance to hospital with jaundice, so I can't complain at all about anything...apart from the fact that he suffered with symptoms (now glaringly obvious!!!) for 8 years before jaundice set in. Why didn't someone pick up on it sooner?
We have a support group on Facebook... Families in Support of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness, come and join us!
Please tell me how to find you on Facebook. Are you in the US or the UK?
My wife saw our GP at 12:40 a.m., who was concerned and had my wife admitted to hospital the same day at 3.00pm. I could not ask for more.
The BJ
My wife saw our GP at 12:40 a.m., who was concerned and had my wife admitted to hospital the same day at 3.00pm. I could not ask for more.
The BJ
Why do G.Ps rule out other condition's before even thinking of Pancreatic Cancer, because when it is detected, it is to late. I think it is all down to money and that's not right, it's people's lives
Mine I have to blame on myself. I was suffering night pains but would get better if I moved around and it did not interfere with my job so I figured it would go away. Well it did for about three day and then it came back worse and I began to have many other problems so I went to the ER where they did a CT and found a mass on my pancreas. From there it was down hill and by the time the biopsy was done I was diagnosed with unoperable Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer and was given 18 months to 2 1/2 years to live. Well I am now at the year mark and I feel fine so I may be/pray that I am in that 6% that make it 5 years or better..... Please don't make the same mistake that I did. WORK is NOT that important, your health IS!!!
BillK52
I'm pretty much in the same way as, if when I move around I feel ok I can work but after half a day I feel lots of pain and discomfort, saw a GP few days ago had blood tests done got them back today and told me its all clear that I don't have PC, but I did mention that I'm still loosing weight fast, I do eat and drink plenty of fluids and nothing is happening apart from I'm wasting away and with dizziness.
he said it sounds like I suffer from Anxiety, but I know my body and its not that!
how are you hope your much better now?
wishing you the very best.
Corvin
My dear dear father had suffered for months with back pain, stomach pain, loss of appetite, dramatic weight loss, he went back and forth to Dr and was given blood tests, scans, X-rays he also had a camera put down his throat and an endoscopy, and each time was told it was nothing! He eventually collapsed and hospital gave in to his pleas for a ct scan. He got his scan at the end of June 2011, got the results 3 days later and passed away 20 days after he was told he had pc! Whilst in the hospice he had 10 litres of fluid drained from his stomach. I just don't understand how any Dr can not notice 10 litres of fluid and pass it all off as nothing serious, maybe just indigestion! He had every symptom of pc yet they didn't diagnose him quick enough. In my lingo he suffered needlessly. It's a disgrace!
*mind
I originally went to see the gp with what i thought was IBS as all the over the counter remedies wasn't working, The GP sent me for Routine Bloods which came back abnornmal, The following week i was sent for an Ultrasound scan which then went onto a CT scan, I was lucky there was no waiting list, Two months later i was having surgery and two tumours were removed, one in the pancreas approx 2.5 cm and one in the Duodenum, almost 3 years down the line i am feeling fine, Lucky? well i don't know But thankful the Doctor sent me foe Bloods and full marks to the NHS, The key is early detection
I'd go with lucky, good to read a positive message
My husband was having mild gastric discomfort for over a year. Doctor prescribed things like prilosec, etc. An Upper GI study done during a routine Colonoscopy showed nothing. CT scan was finally ordered at the point that he was unable to eat almost anything. CT scan showed the mass on his pancreas and he had surgery to reroute his digestive system the next day. Surgeon said his stomach was 6 times the normal size.
My partners gp didn't do anything after we went there for 6 months, took him to our local A&E and they did the tests. now we have months not years together unless treatment helps. Some gp's just don't care!
my refereal was on my first meeting with the doctor as my GP had known me for 15 years and never seen me ill before, she wrote the referal whilst in her office... dont be fobbed off with doctors not wanting to do this first time... push for the refreal as with this silent killer time is of the essence.
Getting a referal was very protracted and getting her diagnosis was far too long.Hope all goes well for you
Best wishes
Loraine
My husband went to the GP end of march, GP reffered him for a routine gastroscopy, in 6-8wks time plus tablets..very routine. A wk later on holiday he was very ill, the GP there sent him straight to the acute hospital where a CT revealed large tumour, secondries in liver, no possibility of surgery...palliative chemo only. We returned home shocked.
After 13 wks my lovely husband died. To be fair to the doctors, their were no symptoms until it was too late. We need to get to a point where we can test for this , my husband didn't have a chance.
Sorry this isn't a very positive story.
I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I agree the GPs need to take this PC silent killer and really try to get the best possible treatment.
for two weeks now I've been to the GP and A&E telling them that I don't feel right there's something really wrong with me! All I've been told is that I've got Anxiety!
well this week in just five days I've lost just over a stone in weight went back to a different GP she sent me to the Hospital for blood tests and a X-Ray, the blood test came back today saying all Clear, but nothing on the X-Ray yet!
so again the GP doesn't believe there's anything wrong with me, but I know my own body and I lost my Appetite and struggling to eat anyways. Plus I'm unexpected still loosing weight. It's like they don't want to listen till it's too late.
what more can I do, I asked for a CT scan or a Biopsy to double check.
all the best and sorry for being a mood killer here. Finding it hard to turn to someone.
I complained for years about pain but felt I wasnt taken seriously.being called a conundrum by one doctor . I had gallbladder scan in 2016.which showed a gall stone I've found out since it also visibly showed a mass on my pancreas.nothing was done or said about this and I was finally diagnosed in march 2020. Feel very angry about so many errors. Poppey
My tumour shows op on a gall bladder scan in 2016 wasn't diagnosed till 2020
Hi Poppy, not heard from you for a while. Hope you are OK and looking forward to Christmas. xx