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Hi Murphy   Hopefully the high sedimentation rate will be the indicator that your care team need to push further with this. Fingers crossed and prayers coming your way that it's nothing serious. Please let us know how this all progresses for you, yeah?   Best regards. Craig

Thanks again Craig.   It really does help having someone to talk too.   Called docs today for latest blood test results and the receptionist told me I have high esr. I asked what this is and she said she didnt know and would get doc to call me but he hasn't.   I checked what esr high means and it means an infection which I knew.  It also fits the bill of pc in the liver .  Will try and stay positive as again it could be many things   Hopefully get to  bottom of it soon 1 way or the other.   Thanks again    

Hi Murphy   Try to remain positive, but at the same time there's something clearly wrong somewhere. You shouldn't be experiencing pain under your ribs and back, and your doctors should be taking it more seriously. I hope they've got a CT scan and chest x-ray set up fo you soon, as time is of the essense if it is cancer. Hopefully, they'll check your blood and urine too as these can be done quickly and the results back within just a few days. It's clear you're suffering Murphy, and even if the results come back clear and the complaint still persists or worsens, I'd go as far as taking yourself to A & E.  As I said before, hopefully it's nothing too serious. However, the longer this goes on untreated/diagnosed the worse it could potentially get even if it is something as comparably innocuous as gall stones. Actually, I'm flabergasted that your HC provider has told you there aren't any red-flags. Pain under your ribs and back with fatigue and weightloss should have got their attention for a whole host of possible conditions. Keep pushing for tests, and xrays, and scans. Don't forget: nobody knows your body as well as you do! Murphy. I believe the whole point of this forum is to help people like yourself, not just those who have cancer. I've got all the time in the world to help you if you need it, and I believe I'm echoing the words of every member of this community. My only hope is you won't have cancer and you'll get whatever the issue is sorted out speedily.   Hopefully, others will chime in with their thoughts soon. However, please keep us informed and vent off or ask as many questions you like.   Craig

Hi Craig   Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. I really do appreciate it.   I have a lot of stomach issues over the last couple of years I.e cramping, constipation and diarrhoea but when I went to docs they done checks and said nothing to worry about.   It's the pain on my right side under my ribs and the swelling that is really getting to me along with constant back pain that comes and goes all over that is also a worry .  The pain got so bad that I went to a&e the other night but after a long wait doc just said that pain will be muscular .  I explained I was concerned about pc but she said there was no red flags and sent me home with laxatives(only check done was my pee)   You are right but and I will try and stay positive as it could be many things and hopefully just me being silly.   Thanks again for your response as I know you have enough on your plate without me .    

Hi murphy. I'm new on this forum and this is my first post. I was diagnosed with stage 2 pancreatic cancer in April of this year. The symptoms that prompted me to seek medical advice was a gradual loss of weight that started in Jan/Feb of 2023. I was losing about a pound a month which equated to just over a stone of weight-loss by Christmas '23. Then came a moderately painful gnawing pain under my right rib in around August of 2023. By the new year this pain gradually spread across my whole stomach and affected my appetite, sleep, and concentration as the pain was very distracting. I was also very fatigued, sleeping for around 13-hours a night. By this point I'd made several visits to the GP and in January of this year I had blood tests, a thorax and abdominal CT, chest x-ray and urinary gas analysis, which all came back clear. At the start of April '24 I suddenly got jaundice: my eyes yellowed overnight, and my skin too. I looked like Bart Simpson. Now I knew something was seriously wrong. It was! I was immediately admitted to hospital where within two days many scans and blood tests were done, and lastly an ultrasound endoscopy that found a tumour in my duodenum. The primary cancer was in fact in my pancreas, which wouldn't be discovered until after the Whipple surgery the following week. I spent 7-weeks in hospital on a upper gastrointestinal ward (GI), and got to know many upper GI patients during that time. Out of around twenty patients I knew by name only I had pancreatic cancer. Even though just about all of us complained of very similar (in some cases identical) symptoms. One bloke had a gallstone that had found its way into his pancreas. Another had multiple gallstones that couldn't free themselves and caused painful symptoms. Two or three had pancreatitis, while some others had infections of the pancreas or galllbladder. A few who had the same symptoms ended up with issues totally unrelated to the pancreas/stomach/gallbladder. What I'm trying to say is, the amount of explanations for why you're suffering with your symptoms are too numerous to just simply say it's likely to be pancreatic cancer. Chances are it's something far less serious, and that's where you should put your mind at this time. Yes, of course it's worrying and easier said than done, but try not to dwell on the extremely negative side. Be cautious and have a healthy level of concern but be aware of all the other treatable issues it could be.  Additionally, your symptoms seem to have come on acutely rather than over a long period of time. This doesn't mean it cannot be PC or another cancer, but cancer symptoms - like weight-loss - often gather pace over a long period of time. Can you recall any symptoms before the ones in the last few weeks?   Still, it's very reassuring and confidence inspiring to know that your medical team or GP is taking the possibility of cancer seriously, no matter how unlikely. Too many PC sufferers are diagnosed far too late and for me it's because the symptoms are often vague and it's all to easy for professional to blame it on IBS, GERD or acid reflux. Just for clarification: I'm a two time cancer sufferer. I had S1 testicular cancer when I was 30 in 2001, and I was recently diagnosed with PC in 2024. I'm not a medical expert and my response is purely based on my own experiences and reading. Basically, please fact check if unsure about anything I've said. Please keep us informed about your results - I've got everything crossed for you!

HI    Sorry to bother anyone.  I am waiting on a scan to determine if I have PC   I have lost weight and had serious stomach issues for 3 weeks leaving me with no energy and struggling to move at some points.   over the last few days my back pain has intensified and is constant. my side under the ribs appears swollen and very sore also radiating to the back making it so hard to sleep.  I have lost half a stone in 3 weeks.   As I say I am sorry to bother people but I was wondering if anyone experienced similar.   cheers        

Hi all,  I am wondering if anyone has had a simmilar situation.  My mum was diagonsed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer last year. She had the whipple surgary and after recovery was given 12 rounds of Folfrinox chemotheropy.  she was given the all clear by doctors in march but her CA-19's were going up steadily from 530 in march.  She started to feel unwell with back ache and stomache problems about 2 weeks after being given the all clear.  she was under the GP for the past 8 weeks and given pain medication.  Symptoms got worse rapidly over the past 8 weeks and she ended up in A&E last friday.  simce then they have found matastesies on the peritoneal and a blockage (suspected tumor in the bile duct)  she also has a lot of Ascites (fluid build up) in her abodomen.  She has been told that it is now plapative care with posibility of chemo to manage symptoms.  I am the oldest of her 4 children (32), she also has a 25, 17 and 9 year olds with 2 grandchildren.  We have no idea what to expect with all this as it came to quick a shock on how quickly she deteriorated and none of us know what to expect.  I would apreciate aby adive on how to manage symtoms ect.  The nurses in this charity have been amazing but im trying anything at the moment to try to undertand it all.    Thanks in advance

Update to the above post: I just spoke to my local pharmacist, who repeated the governmental statement almost verbatim, but added one crucially worrying piece of information: these issues are expected to last until 2026.

Thanks for all your responses. Following its appearance in the national news (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy737x4rry1o), I wrote to my MP about the issue too, and he submitted a Parlimentary question. The response (nothing new: don't panic, it's complicated, it won't be forever, there are alternatives) was as follows:   We are aware of supply issues with three pancreatic enzyme replacement therapies: Creon 10,000 gastro-resistant capsules; Creon 25,000 gastro-resistant capsules; and Nutrizym 22 gastro-resistant capsules. We understand that these are due to limited availability of active pharmaceutical ingredients, and manufacturing constraints in producing the volumes required to meet demand. The Department has issued guidance to healthcare professionals regarding treatment of patients while there is a disruption to the supply of these pancreatic enzyme replacement therapies. We are having regular conversations with the suppliers of these products to ask that they expedite deliveries and increase production forecasts, and to confirm that they are taking action to address the root causes of the issues, to ensure continuity of supply. We are also working with specialist importers to source unlicensed imports from abroad. Whilst we can't always prevent supply issues, we have a range of well-established tools and processes to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, so they can advise and support their patients.  

Good news - just heard today that my tests show no pancreatic or liver cancer. A great relief, and I will continue to pray for those who are not so fortunate in their diagnosis.