A gran who went to hospital with hallucinations never returned home after receiving a devastating cancer diagnosis.
Sharon Flitton, who spent her last six weeks of life in hospital, was only diagnosed a week before she died.
In September last year, Sharon landed her dream job in a new care home.
She initially put her weight loss and tiredness down to her diabetes and her busy new role but, after she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance following hallucinations which is where she spent her last few weeks.
Her pancreatic cancer diagnosis came just a week before she died aged 60, EssexLive reports.
Sharon's daughter, April Flitton, 30, from Southend in Essex, is now backing a campaign by a charity to fund breakthroughs that she says are desperately needed to get pancreatic cancer diagnosed early following the loss of her mother.
“I didn't get news directly from the doctor," said April, who called an ambulance after her mum experienced hallucinations.
"The palliative nurses told me, 'She’s got days, if not hours.' And they were right. I never expected that million years. I thought she had quite a lot of time."
She added: "It’s hard to get your head around the rapidity of it, when something like this happens to someone you love.
"You think they will come out of hospital and go back to normal. But our mum left home in the ambulance and never came back.
"Mum wasn’t able to be treated for her cancer. It was too far along. Straight away, she was given palliative care.”
Research by the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK shows 80 per cent of people with pancreatic cancer are already not being diagnosed until after the disease has spread – almost double the proportion for other cancers.
Nearly three-quarters of GPs (72 per cent) are concerned that the current Covid-19 cancer diagnostic backlog may continue to prevent people with pancreatic cancer from being diagnosed in time for potentially lifesaving treatment, and surgery to remove their tumour.
“Early diagnosis is so important with this cancer," added April.
"No one can stop it from happening, but we need to find it early. It's such an aggressive cancer; it is like a silent killer.
"It gets hold of you and that's it, before you know it, you're stage four and you're gone. Having a simple diagnostic test would mean an awful lot.”
The major cause of late diagnosis is pancreatic cancer’s vague symptoms - such as back pain, indigestion and unexpected weight loss – because these are also common to many less serious health conditions.
With no early detection tools to help them, it is very difficult for GPs to identify who should be urgently referred for scans to confirm or rule out the disease.
Nearly half of all pancreatic cancer patients are currently diagnosed via an emergency, such as visiting A&E. One-year survival for patients diagnosed through a GP referral is three times higher.
Pancreatic Cancer UK is now urging the public to help fund the development of the first-ever simple test for the disease and help save thousands more lives each year through its "Unite-Diagnose-Save-Lives" campaign.
It has already invested £1.6m into the Pancreatic Cancer UK Early Diagnosis Research Alliance an innovative project involving more than 40 leading UK scientists, which has already created a blood test that’s proven to be highly accurate in laboratory trials. However, the charity needs public support to fund the next phase of the research.
Diana Jupp, CEO of Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “'Sorry, it’s too late. we can’t save you' are the devastating words that 80 per cent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will hear this year, the same words the majority of patients and their loved ones have been hearing for the last 50 years.
"We have hardly made any progress. We simply cannot allow this to continue, not when we have seen the game-changing impact early diagnosis research has had for breast, prostate and other common cancers.
"We have to give doctors the innovative new tools they need to detect the warning signs earlier, so they can ensure those who need it, receive treatment as soon as possible. It’s an enormous challenge, but if the public stands with us, they can help deliver the first diagnostic test for the deadliest common cancer - a historic breakthrough that could save thousands of lives a year.”
More information on the campaign can be found here.
