I lost stepdad and ex to this horrible cancer
Mumraisesawarenessaboutneedfor more research into pancreatic killer
A mum who lost her ex-husband and stepdad to pancreatic cancer has spoken out about her determination to raise awareness of the need for more research.
Claire McEwan, 46, from East Kilbride, lost both her stepdad, Billy, and her ex-husband, Stephen, to the deadly illness.
Tragically, each died within a year of diagnosis and now Claire is determined to raise awareness of the need for more research.
Claire’s dad died when she was young so Billy, a local butcher and fitness fanatic, was the only father she had ever known.
He was working and going to the gym regularly despite being in his late seventies.
So it came as a real shock when, during a phone call home while on holiday, she leaned that Billy had been in hospital with pain and jaundice.
Claire said: “When we came home, my mum said ‘On your way past, can you drop in?’ It was one of those things that I definitely, definitely wasn’t prepared for.
“I went in and Billy said that it was cancer and I genuinely felt like someone had hit me in the chest.
“I remember just sort of dropping onto the chair backwards and not really taking it in, because Billy was the last person I ever expected it from.”
Doctors discussed surgery to remove the tumour, but first, Billy had to have chemotherapy.
As fit as he was, at 78, Billy struggled to tolerate the harsh treatment. Sadly,
he died in September 2015. Claire said: “Billy ended up back in hospital and then was asked to go home and I didn’t know he was coming home to die.
“Billy went from sitting on the couch in the living room one minute to being on a morphine drive the next day.
“I saw him on Friday; I saw him on Saturday; and by Sunday, he was on a morphine drive. By Thursday, he was gone.”
Survival rates for pancreatic cancer have barely improved in 50 years, with fewer than six per cent of patients in Scotland surviving five years after their diagnosis.
Pioneering research into a new game-changing treatment for those affected by pancreatic cancer has begun, giving hope to patients.
Led by University of Glasgow scientist Dr Seth Coffelt and funded by Worldwide Cancer Research and Pancreatic Cancer UK, the project aims to help make desperately-needed new immunotherapy treatments a reality for future patients.
Claire added: “This new research project gives me massive hope. It would be nice to think that there is a cure on the horizon.
“I know they have made so many advances in other types of cancer, and I would just love to see the advances made in pancreatic cancer because from what I’ve seen of it, it’s such an aggressive and indiscriminate cancer.”
Stephanie Sinclair, science communications manager at Worldwide Cancer Research, said: “I am very excited to see this innovative cancer research project starting here in Scotland, where Worldwide Cancer Research is based.
“We are delighted to be working with Pancreatic Cancer UK to support this crucial research looking for new cures for pancreatic cancer.”
Dr Chris Macdonald, head of research at Pancreatic Cancer UK, added: “Curative surgery is only possible if the disease is still contained in the pancreas, and even for those patients who are not able to have surgery, chemotherapy is much more effective if the cancer has not spread.
“Therefore, understanding why and how pancreatic cancer is able to hide from the immune system and spread around the body could allow us to find new ways to reduce or even prevent this from happening, giving more people the opportunity to survive for longer and spend more precious time with their loved ones.”