In May 2020 our world turned upside down. 

My dad suffered a stroke on the 8th May & with two scans it was confirmed on the 11th May he had stage 4 Pancreatic cancer. He was told he had around 3 months of life with a possibility of chemo for some extra time. He went on to have several more strokes on the 14th, 17th & 18th May taking away his ability to move his arms, speak & swallow. It was the cancer causing these horrific strokes. He continued to have silent strokes daily, taking him slowly & he passed away on the 26th May at 1am. Myself & my stepmum with him by his side, holding his hand. 18days after his first stroke. 15days after diagnosis. 

My dad is a kind & brave man. In February 2020 he donated his kidney to his sister. He was & is a hero. Him being able to donate made it hard for us to understand him being so ill, merely a few months later. But Pancreatic cancer is hard to understand. It is silent. It hides. It’s symptoms - if any - mistaken for other things.

Before the strokes & my dads diagnosis I had taken up running, something I enjoyed & loved to share my achievement with him as he was a keen runner back in his day. He challenged me to run a marathon & beat his time of 3hrs 25mins - not sure I could but it definitely made me determined to run one. Now I am honoured to run for the Pancreatic Cancer UK Charity with their team in the London Marathon 2021. Raising money & running in memory of my dad. 

This awful disease is silent. Usually found when it’s too late. There is no blood test that can be done & no simple test to diagnose. After diagnosis people often don’t get the chance of treatment. This all needs to change & with fundraising, PCUK are continuing to fight this horrific cancer.