S
ittingoppositemy
doctorinstunned
silence,neither
of usknewwhat
to saynext.
I’djustbeen
giventheworstpossible
diagnosisimaginable...
‘Wefounda
lesiononyour
pancreas,’he
said.‘Itlooks
likecancer.’
Ina wayI’d
expectedthis,
butit didn’tstop
it beinga shock.
‘I thought
we’druledit out?’
I saidquietly,
finallybreaking
thesilence.
A scana few
monthsearlierhadcome
backclear.
Butheshookhishead.
I hadcancerandthat
wasthat.
AndI knewthiswasgoing
to bethefightof mylife.
‘Whataremyoptions,then?’
I asked.
Tobehonest,though,I didn’t
needthedoctorto respond.
I alreadyhada roughidea
of whatcamenext.
Afterall,I wasn’tthefirst
inmyfamilyto getsuch
a crushingdiagnosis.
I stillrememberwhenwe
foundoutourdadMichael,
74,hadpancreaticcancer.
He’dgonerightoffhisfood- sounlikehim– andhadlost
I knewthat
thiswas
goingtobe
thefight
ofmylife
WORDS:
EMMA
ROSSITER.
PHOTO
(MAIN
PICTURE
OF
HEIDI
DANCE):
EXPRESS
SYNDICATION
Mydad,mybrotherandI all
hadonethingincommon...
HeidiDance,48,WalthamStLawrence
THREE STRIKES
52
loads of weight.
So, in December 2010, we’d
taken him for a scan.
‘It could be pancreatitis or
pancreatic cancer,’ his doctor
had said in January 2011.
Sadly, a biopsy at the end
of March 2011 confirmed Dad
had pancreatic
cancer and it
was terminal.
Mum had passed
away a few years
earlier after
a stroke, so my
siblings and
I rallied to be
by his side.
We vowed to
make whatever
time he had
left count.
Despite doctors
originally giving him three
monthsatbest,Dadonly
managedanother 24 hours.
Andon1 April2011,he
diedinhospital.
Utterlydevastating.
Wetooksomecomfortin
knowingthathehadn’t
sufferedtoolong.
Andallanyof uscouldhope
wasthatthisdiseasenever
plaguedourfamilyagain.
Butthen,inlate2017,
I startedshowingsimilar
symptomsto Dad.
Losingweight.
Rapidly.
Concerned,I wentto myGP.
‘I’vecompletelylostmy
appetite,’I groaned.
‘CouldbeIBSorCrohn’s,’she suggested to me.
But I’d never showed
symptoms previously.
In January 2018, I was
sent for tests.
One by one, possible
explanations were ticked off.
Soon they were looking into
another cause.
Cancer.
But it wasn’t until one
consultant asked about my
family history that they agreed
to look at my pancreas.
Even then, the doctor said
it was unlikely.
‘You’re far too young,’
he reasoned.
Most people diagnosed
with pancreatic cancer were
75 years old or over.
Thankfully, after a scan in
September 2018, my pancreas
came back clear.
‘No signs of cancer,’ I beamed
to my brother Rene, 51.
‘That’s a relief,’ he smiled.
I was so thankful – knew if
I’d tested positive, then it was
life threatening.
Which is why, when Rene
called me with some news
justa couplemonthslater,
thatI brokedown.
Likeme,Renehadbeen
losingweightatanalarming
pace,butthedoctorshadn’t
foundanythinguntoward.
Thatwasuntila CRTscan
showedhispancreasand
liverwereriddledwithcancer.
ExactlylikeDad.
‘Whatareyougoingto do?’
I sniffled,worried.
‘Whatevertheytellme,’
heshrugged.
He’dalwaysbeenlaidback,
butI couldtellhewasscared.
Still,wedesperatelyclung
to thehopethatmaybethe
doctorscoulddosomething.
I spenteverymomentthatI couldto bewithhim.
Meanwhile,I was still no
closerto ananswer to my
ownweightloss.
Thatwasuntilthe end of
JanuarywhenI was admitted
throughA&EatRoyal
BerkshireHospital.
Myconsultantthen came to
seeme,toldmehe’d reviewed
mymostrecentscan and
that’swhenhegave me theCU
RSE
I’m doing my
best to raise
awareness