November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and the 17th November specifically is World Pancreatic Cancer Day 2022; an annual opportunity to raise vital awareness of the ‘silent’ signs and symptoms of the disease. Pancreatic Cancer UK explains: ‘Shockingly, research into pancreatic cancer has been underfunded for decades, receiving only 3% of the UK cancer research budget, meaning survival has barely changed in the past 40 years. ’
There was merely a month between Mike Davies’ diagnosis with pancreatic cancer and his untimely death in January 2022. The electrician, from New Mills, had been complaining of a persistent lower back pain, but it wasn’t until he collapsed in pain whilst chatting to a friend on the phone, that his wife, Jane, called the GP.
Jane explains: ‘We had done what everyone does and Googled Mike’s symptoms which had suggested he could have gallbladder stones, but the GP wanted to see him in person. She was very good and arranged for Mike to have a surgical assessment at Stepping Hill Hospital. After that, the medical team wanted Mike to have a scan, but he needed to go back the next day.
‘The following day, I dropped Mike off at the hospital and went over to the Sainsbury’s supermarket whilst he went in for the scan as I wasn’t allowed in with him. Mike called me later and told me he’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, that had spread into his liver. It was a huge shock, and everything happened so quickly.
‘The symptoms of pancreatic cancer are not signs you’d ever really link to cancer. The lower back pain we put down to Mike’s job, and him using an exercise bike to keep fit. He had also been complaining of feeling bloated and not eating as much at mealtimes, but as he was winding up for retirement and not working as much, he just said he didn’t need to eat as much anymore. In hindsight, they couldn’t have been more obvious, and I only learnt about them as I sat and waited for Mike during one of his appointments, as there was a display in the waiting area.
‘We were due to go to Lapland with my son, daughter and all the grandchildren for a special trip before Christmas. We obviously had to cancel the holiday. At first, we thought that Mike would be able to undergo chemotherapy, but sadly after undergoing several bilirubin blood tests (to check the health of his liver), the readings came back far too high to have any chemo.
‘Mike was put on special medication but it gave him terrible hiccups which impaired his speech. He also had morphine but he didn’t like taking that as he didn’t feel in control of his body – he was so unused to this new feeling. He was a very stoic and proud man; I think he was in a lot more pain than he ever let on.
‘Mike was discharged from hospital and was able to spend Christmas at home. We had the whole family over but our grandchildren knew something was wrong with Grandad and that he wasn’t well; it was a very emotional day.
‘On the 27th December, Mike woke up and couldn’t breathe properly so I called an ambulance which came straight away. He was admitted to Stepping Hill again and was there for a week. Looking back, I think it was a waste of a week because I couldn’t see him, but he used the opportunity to call his friends and tell them he was very unwell. He came out of hospital on New Years’ Eve.
‘We live in a bungalow but our bedroom is upstairs in the attic and I was very uncomfortable with Mike getting up and down the stairs to our room and to use the bathroom. We relocated downstairs and stayed together in our spare room, which is set up for our grandchildren.
‘The palliative care team from our GP surgery came and gave great support and advice. They referred us to Blythe House for day and night-time care. Even though Mike had lost a lot of weight, he was still much taller and heavier than me, and I had trouble moving him. He was a very proud man and he got cross because he couldn’t move or help himself. He’d say in jest to my daughter and I: “You’d make a pair of rotten nurses!”
‘A hospital bed was delivered on 14th January, and I was able to rearrange our grandchildren’s play room for Mike to go in there in the specialist bed. That day, healthcare assistants from Blythe House’s Hospice at Home service started to come to provide care and respite support to Mike and I. I think he felt better when they were there, because it wasn’t just me – there were people there who knew what they were doing.
‘During the week, so many family members and friends came around to visit. I don’t think he wanted them to; he didn’t want them to see him the way he was, but I told him it was important for them to come.
‘During the evening on the 19th January, my son, David, and I had left Mike sleeping in his room whilst we went to have some tea, and a friend of mine called round to see how I was. David said he’d leave us to chat and go and check on Mike. He came back into the room and said: “I think you better come.” Mike had died peacefully in the hospital bed at home.
‘A member of the Hospice at Home team was there during the day or through the night for fives nights before Mike died. Mike used to joke that the only way he was leaving our house was feet first. It was so important to him to stay at home – I could not have done it without Blythe House working alongside the wider community care team. Usually, a lot of different people coming together from several agencies just doesn’t work, but they really did communicate well and the continuity of Mike’s care was amazing.
‘We asked for donations at Mike’s funeral to Blythe House, and set up a tribute page online so that loved ones can share their memories of him, and donate to the charity if they wish. The hospice did so much for us and it’s a local charity. I’ve always shopped in the New Mills charity shop – and it was important for us to support the hospice and say thanks for everything the team did for us.’
A tribute page is an online memorial you can create and personalise in memory of a loved one. It’s a place where family and friends can share memories and photos, leave a message of condolence, light a virtual candle and make a donation in their memory. The tribute page can also act as a funeral notice where you can share practical funeral arrangements with family and friends.
