Story
Dear Friends and Family,
I'm running the London Marathon this year for Pancreatic Cancer UK, with a good mate of mine Anthony Watret. As many of you know, I lost my best friend, my Dad, last year to pancreatic cancer. The stats surrounding this illness are a national disgrace. I'm hoping to raise £2500 with your generous support. The shocking stats and my dads story are detailed below:-
Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival rate of all cancers.
Over 80% of people with pancreatic cancer die within 1 year. This was the case for my Dad.
The average life expectancy on diagnosis is 4 to 6 months.
97% of pancreatic cancer patients die within 5 years of diagnosis.
50% of patients are diagnosed as an emergency in our A&E system. This was the case for my Dad.
Pancreatic cancer is the 9th most common cancer in the UK.
In 2020 pancreatic cancer is expected to be the 2nd most common cause of cancer death in the UK. Today it is the 5th.
The UK has one of the worst survival rates in Europe.
Pancreatic cancer receives only 1% of overall research funding.
My Dad's story:
In December 2012 aged 68, Dad and I went on holiday to Iceland where we hiked a glacier and everything seemed great.
In January 2013, dad was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This didn’t seem unusual and was found on a regular health check at his GP.
Between January 2013 and May 2013 everything seemed fine.
In June 2013, dad complained of chest pains and at A&E was told he had a blood clot on his lungs. Again this wasn’t put down to anything serious and he was given medication for the clots.
In mid June 2013, dad had further pains in his legs and was asked to go for an ultrasound at the walk in centre. Here they directed him straight to A&E after the scan.
In A&E dad was told he had pancreatic cancer which by now had spread to his liver, lungs and bones.
All the above symptoms were not investigated for cancer at an earlier stage, and this is common for pancreatic cancer patients. This is all the more shocking as 6 months before this he had no symptoms whatsoever.
Dad underwent 7 months of chemotherapy and got to 12 cycles of his particular treatment, which was a record for that type of treatment used at the UCH hospital. The chemotherapy stopped working in January 2014 and treatment was withdrawn.
Dad survived two months after treatment was withdrawn, and died on the 26th March 2014, 10 months after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
As many of you know, not only was Dave De Haan my dad, he was also my best mate. I lived with dad several times in my adult years and these were some of the best moments of my life. Dad and I went on holidays and shared great times together. He was always entertaining to be around and his passing has left a huge void in our lives, however I am thankful I had dad in my life and I'm left with nothing but great memories.
Cancer is something which effects so many of us and everyone has their own story. Your support is appreciated in our fight to rid this horrible disease.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
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