A third of people put off seeking help for symptoms of pancreatic cancer

An “alarming” number of people would put off seeking help from their GP if they experienced potential symptoms of pancreatic cancer, a charity has warned.

Nearly a third of people (28 per cent) in the UK would wait three months or more to contact a doctor, despite pancreatic cancer being among the deadliest common cancers.

According to Pancreatic Cancer UK, the disease has the lowest survival of all common cancers, with five-year survival at less than seven per cent.

In a new poll, the charity found that 31 per cent of people said they would delay seeking help for longer than usual, with just over half (51 per cent) of respondents saying the reason for this is they ‘did not want to be a burden to the NHS’.

The findings from the poll of 2,087 Britons was carried out by Savanta ComRes and suggest that the public would not know how to take symptoms of pancreatic cancer seriously, warned the charity.

Each year, 10,500 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Medical experts say early diagnosis gives people the best chance of survival – but around 80 per cent of people who are diagnosed with the cancer only find out when the disease is at an advanced stage.

This is because the symptoms of the cancer can be “vague”, said the charity. They include back pain, indigestion, stomach pain, weight loss and jaundice, which is considered a “red flag” sign for pancreatic cancer.

Jaundice occurs when the eyes or skin turns yellow, but nearly a quarter (22 per cent) of people polled said they were not confident they could recognise it. Pancreatic Cancer UK urges anyone who has developed jaundice to go to A&E immediately.

Dr David Chang, a consultant pancreatic surgeon at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and translational lead for the Precision Panc Platform, told The Independent that the survey results were “worrisome”, particularly if people were waiting so long to seek help after experiencing signs of jaundice.

“The general public may not have such good awareness about the symptoms of pancreatic cancer, and the difficulty is that the symptoms can be very vague. It could be a bellyache that comes and goes and patients just put up with it,” he said.

“But I would like to say that if patients experience jaundice, they should seek help straight away.”

Chelsea Bennet, 27, said her mother dismissed her symptoms as “just one of those things”, but was eventually diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Her mother, Joanne Eales, first started experiencing symptoms in February 2020.

She initially saw a GP but due to pandemic pressures, she booked a private CT scan and was subsequently told how far her cancer had progressed and that nothing could be done to save her life.

Bennet said: “It began with a mild stomach and back ache and then she had a slight change in her bowel habits. She thought, ‘Maybe it’s because of my age’, because of the onset of menopause.

“Mum thought it was just one of those things. She was still living a normal life and doing normal things.”

Bennett described her mother as “a very proud lady” who was “still painting her nails” just a week before she died.

“During that time, I lived between two houses, I would pick the children up from school and later go to my mum’s. I would spend all night at my mum’s. Being an only child, there was nobody else to share that burden with.

“Very often, I looked at her and wondered how this had happened. Pancreatic cancer is something we all need to be aware of because it is such a deadly cancer.”

Actress Mindy Kaling previously revealed that her mother also fell ill to the disease and died in 2012 after getting a stage four diagnosis just eight months earlier.

Kaling, who works to raise awareness for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), said her mother, Swati Chokalingam, experienced symptoms including backache, weight loss and the yellowing of her eyes.

The 42-year-old The Office star told US News last year: “I remember at that time, that really felt like the moment in my life where I had to become a real grown-up. And I had to be strong because she couldn’t see me weak or broken by the news – I wanted to give her hope.”

Diana Jupp, chief executive of Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “It is hugely worrying to hear that so many people would put off seeking help for so long. Pancreatic cancer has not gone away because of Covid-19 and I would urge anyone with persistent, unexplained symptoms to use the NHS.

“There is no time to wait with pancreatic cancer. Thousands of people a year are told it’s too late, that nothing can be done for them. It is vital that people are diagnosed as early as possible to give them the best chance of life-saving treatment.

“We do not want people to panic if they have some or all of these symptoms, because most people who do will not have pancreatic cancer,” she added.

“But it is absolutely vital that people learn more about this disease, talk to their loved ones and their GPs, and help us end the culture of silence around the deadliest common cancer in the UK.”

Dr Chang added: “It’s about being vigilant and always having it in the back of the mind, if something is wrong, seek your GP’s help and get some blood tests done.

“Check your eyes often, the skin can go yellow too but that depends on the skin tone of each individual, so it may not become clear until later.

“But jaundice can also be associated with changing urine and stool. If the colour of your urine goes dark, a Coca-Cola type of colour and your stool goes pale like clay, go to your GP.”

There is plenty of work being done to try and catch pancreatic cancer in its earlier stages, said Dr Chang. “We’ve improved the outcome for a lot of other cancers, but pancreas, esophageal and lung cancers still carry more negative prognosis. We do need to improve public awareness.”

Pancreatic Cancer UK recommends that anyone experiencing one or more of these symptoms for more than four weeks contact their GP.