My experience

[Roddders]

Just thought I would add this to the site as it may be of interest.

My experience is a bit different to most as I never knew I had pancreatic cancer until after I had undergone Whipples Procedure. I only knew that there was something on my pancreas and (fortunately) was advised by my surgeon to have it removed. It was not until after the operation that it was discovered that the cells were pre-cancerous. As it was caught very early I did not need any follow up action.

[WendyButler]

I would be interested to know what symptoms you had that led to the Whipples procedure in the first place - and I think it is fantastic that the pre-cancerous cells were caught so early.

[Roddders]

The only symptom that I had was an ache/mild pain in my lower abdomen. It was not that bad but seemed to be there all the time. My GP sent me to a consultant at St Peters and he found what he thought was a benign tumor on my pancreas. I had the Whipples Procedure on the advice of the consultant surgeon.

[editfmrt in reply to Roddders]

Is the St Peters hospital you mention the one in Staines? A relative of mine was diagnosed yesterday and has first appointment at this hospital tomorrow. Having lost my husband to pancreatic cancer in 2005 after appalling treatment that permeated throughout all aspects of NHS we are keen to skip some aspects of that traumatic learning journey and not repeat the same mistakes again. I understand St Peters has a pancreatic specialist and wondered if the person that treated you is the same person we hope to see. If so would you be prepared to name them?

[Roddders]

Yes that is the hospital that I was treated at. The address is actually Chertsey but that would be the same hospital. I am sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience last time. My consultant was Mr Neville Menezes and I could not praise him highly enough. Other patients and staff that I talked to were all of the same opinion.