My parkinsons aside, I became aware something was not right early in 2004 because eI was losing interest and becoming generally apathetic about life in general even walking arounf car boot sales which I normally love doing.
Of course I was blaming my parkinsons unaware something darker was going on. I felt that everything ws an effort even caring for my daughter and looking back on it people noticed that my housekeeping was slipping and I was becoming more isolated.
When I started turning a shade of yellow, particularly the whites of my eyes, my GP referred me to Treliske hospital to see a consultant and that day was to change my life. I arrived at outpatients on the due date and was subject to the usual scans to see what was going on as by this time my weight was dropping also.
He told me bluntly that there was a growth on the head of my pancreas and he suspected it could be cancer. While deep down i suspected what it was, it still hit me like a bullet and I had to ring my son to tell hem and I was so choked up I had a job to speak.
Treliske over the course of the next couple of months tried to nsert a stent into my bile duct to drain it but the tumour was in the way and I had to have two attempts and having a drain inserted to release some of the bile. In all I was in treliske for 3 weeks while they attempted this, and my son was fantastic liasing with social services to get my daughter into respite etc and take that pressure off me. Hewas and still is a god send, travelling to and fro Portsmouth as often as he could. A good friend took over the care of Max and Perdy our too Jack Russels.
Moving forward, I was admitted to Derriford hospital in Plymouth after a consultation with a consultant there and on 18th November had the Whipple procedure and spent 8 very painful days in Derriford before being discharged home.
TBC
