Trudy Riley

Mum faced pancreatic cancer with incredible bravery and resolve, determined to do anything and everything she could to fight this disease. This included taking pancreatic enzyme medication with all food, having protein drinks 3 times a day, undergoing numerous tests and procedures, going to the gym twice a week and also exercising every day at home to build her strength and fitness.

Mum received her diagnosis in mid December 2022, after being admitted to hospital with jaundice and other vague symptoms including fatigue and back pain. Prior to the diagnosis, we knew nothing about pancreatic cancer or it’s symptoms.

Mum was one of the lucky few diagnosed early enough to have surgery. Following a successful Whipple's procedure which removed all of the cancer, Mum recovered well and was discharged on Sunday 26th March. She was so happy to be back at home and in her own comfy bed after spending over 3 weeks in hospital.

Unfortunately the next morning she felt unwell and was admitted back to hospital. A scan showed untreatable clotting in the mesenteric arteries which supply blood to the large and small intestines. Restricted blood flow from the clotting resulted in the intestines failing to get enough oxygen, and the tissues started to die.

Mum sadly passed away in the early hours of Tuesday 28th March 2023.

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive and cruel disease, often called a ‘silent killer’ as there may be there no symptoms in the early stages, symptoms can be vague, or symptoms may come and go - This makes diagnosis difficult.

I’ve created this tribute page to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and support research into this terrible disease.

Pancreatic Cancer UK fund innovative research to find the breakthroughs that will change how we understand, diagnose and treat pancreatic cancer. They campaign for change; for better care, treatment and research and for pancreatic cancer to have the recognition it needs. The hope is that with more funds for research an early detection test can be created, allowing more people a diagnosis early enough to have treatment.

About pancreatic cancer:

More than half of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within 3 months.

There are very few effective treatment options for pancreatic cancer, and many people are too unwell when diagnosed to undergo treatment. 7 in 10 will receive no active treatment and 9 out of 10 people with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed too late for surgery, the only treatment that can potentially cure the disease.

By 2026, more people will die from pancreatic cancer than from breast cancer.

Around 10,500 people a year are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but it has the lowest cancer survival rate with around 9,000 dying every year.

Despite being a common cancer and having the poorest survival rates, only 2% of the annual UK cancer research budget goes into pancreatic cancer.

Together, we can transform the future for anyone affected by this cancer