World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

November is  Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and November 13th is World Pancreatic Cancer Day.

I am attending an event near me in support of pancreatic cancer to raise both awareness and funds for the charity. I went to school with Ellie Martin, who is hosting this fundraising event with her siblings after they lost their Grandad to pancreatic cancer. Here is a little message from Ellie and some information about the event. 

"We are organising a fun filled few hours, with lots of beautiful unique stalls, of which profits will be going to Pancreatic Cancer UK. Please join us to raise awareness and of course, money; in memory of our Grandad and so many others that were taken too soon or are fighting to kick Pancreatic Cancer where it hurts!

BE SMART. BE AWARE.

Please, if you are unable to attend, contact us for details on how you can contribute towards the donations.

http://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/


We wear purple for our Grandad; who lost his battle last year, just 4 short weeks after diagnosis. It's a silent one and in the majority of cases, like our Grandad's, it's found too late. We miss him every day and our hearts ache to think of him.

Everyone says these things about their loved ones; but he really was the most loving, kind, caring, generous, silly old man, you'd ever wish to meet and not only is he missed by his family, who love him more than he'll ever know; he is missed by thousands around the world, who had the pleasure to meet him throughout his life and career as a professional comedian. 

There are so many things we plan to do in our Grandad's memory, but for now we will shout from the rooftops and urge people to look for the signs in themselves and the ones they love.

We'd love to see all your lovely faces there.
Lots of love to you all,
Ellie, Isabelle, Alfie, Libby, Zippy, Emily and Sam xx"

Family Fun day in Memory of Lee Wilson
30th November 2014
12noon - 16:00
River Rooms,
Mill Race Lane,
Stourbridge,
DY8 1JN

Click here, for the Facebook events page.

Here is just a bit of background to pancreatic cancer. 

The pancreas is a large gland situated in your tummy, it's about 6 inches long and shaped like a tadpole. Pancreatic cancer is when abnormal cells grown out of control in the pancreas, which forms a mass of tissue which is called a tumour. 

Pancreatic cancers are in two main groups, exocrine tumours which originate in cells in the exocrine pancreas and produces pancreatic juices containing enzymes, and endocrine tumours which originate from endocrine (hormone producing) cells. They are also grouped according to where they in the pancreas, the cancer can grow anywhere in the pancreas, approximately 65% of tumours start in the head of the pancreas, 30% in the body and tail and 5% can involve the whole pancreas. 

Most common symptoms are:

• Abdominal pains
• Jaundice
• Weight loss
• Bowel problems
• Nausea and vomiting
• Indigestion/heartburn
• Fever/shivering
• Diabetes
• Back pain

Other symptoms include:

• Extreme tiredness/fatigue
• Feeling unusually full after food
• Blood clots forming in a vein (Venous Thromoembolism VTE)
• Unexplained acute pancreatitis (infalamation of the pancreas)

Any symptoms anybody does have can be quite vague and may also be a sign of other more common illnesses that affect the gut. Therefore, it can be difficult for GPs to diagnose pancreatic cancer, particularly in it's early stages.
This means that firm diagnosis may be made by different routes, a GP visit first for them to do their routine checks and if they're not sure what is wrong then they will refer you to your local hospital for further tests and to a gastroenterologist. Sometimes people are admitted to hospital because they're feeling very unwell, but at the time the doctors don't know what is wrong. If someone has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer they will have their case reviewed at a regional specialist centre. 

There are various support groups located all over England, Wales and Scotland, here are a few:

• PALMS
• PanPals
• S.L.O.P

To find a support group near you, click here.

For more information on Pancreatic Cancer, click here.

To donate, click here.

World Pancreatic Cancer Day, click here.