Charan & Jas
Charan lived with pancreatic cancer for 5 years, despite a prognosis of only 4 months. Her daughter, Jas, shares their story and reflects on her mum’s unfailing positivity.
I lost my mum, Charan, to Pancreatic Cancer in 2023 after 5 years of battling it.
Mum’s symptoms
For months mum suffered with stomach pain, looking back the Christmas of 2017 she hardly ate and said she was bloated but the GP kept saying it was a stomach infection and she was prescribed antibiotics on several occasions. One night the pain was so intense my dad called the ambulance. Once in hospital, scans were done and mum was told she had a burst appendix and would be prepared for surgery.
There was anger, sadness and tears
The appendix surgery didn’t happen, another doctor looked at the scans and after keyhole investigations mum was told she had pancreatic cancer. She was told whilst she was by herself on a ward. Straight away mum called me whilst I was at work, I broke down and was comforted by colleagues and then had the task of breaking the news to my dad and sisters who were still at home. Mum was healthy, active, rarely drank and never smoked or ate red meat so why was she afflicted with cancer? There was anger, sadness and tears on our family’s part but we all rallied around mum.
Mum’s prognosis was 4 months, but she remained with us for 5 years
Mum was given 4 months, which me and my sisters were never told until after she passed. She started chemo, which knocked her and was hospitalised for sepsis when we nearly lost her. Mum continued to have chemotherapy including 12 cycles of FOLFIRINOX, 12 cycles of FOLFIRI and 3 of Gemcitabine. She also took holistic measures to take care of her mind, body and spirit. She kept active, even on the days that she was fatigued, always trying to hit 7000-10000 daily steps. She practised mindfulness whilst listening to Sikh prayers, her faith was important to her. She already had a healthy diet, she was pescatarian and cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients. Mum also had a positive mindset and attitude, which was really important.
Covid hit during mum’s treatment and it was hard being separated from her, and she struggled not seeing her family but she persevered the way she usually did, never complaining.
Between November 2022 and March 2023 mum was in and out of hospital. She was in hospital for Christmas and it was the first time in our lives that mum was not home to celebrate. It was a time of year that mum loved and she enjoyed spoiling us, but again mum never complained. She had a smile on her face for her visitors, but I knew mum was in pain.
Between February and March 2023, mum was in hospital due to ascites, which caused her great discomfort. It was at this time that she was told her treatment needed to be stopped.
Charan
She told us she’d had a good life
When I brought her home from the hospital for the final time on 10th March 2023, mum was ready to rest at home. My sisters and I were lucky as mum told us how proud she was of us and asked us to look after our dad. She said she’d had a good life and was so happy to see her grandchildren born and spend quality time with them.
Unfortunately, mum didn’t have input from the palliative care or community teams but thankfully our family rallied to provide the care she needed. The services and equipment that we needed for her that was listed on her discharge sheet all turned up too late.
On the final few days mum got to see all the family near and extended and was surrounded by love. Mum fought this cancer so bravely, without complaining and always spoke about it openly and never showed her pain. Mum died on 14 March 2023, a few days before Mother’s Day.
We were lucky to call her mum, and many have told us that our mum was their favourite aunt.
Supporting Pancreatic Cancer UK
My sisters and I support Pancreatic Cancer UK because it was an invaluable source of information for us and mum always believed in supporting charities. I have been proud to volunteer for Pancreatic Cancer UK twice for the London Marathon and my sister, Suki, joined me in 2025. In 2023 Suki and I raised funds for this charity in honour of what would have been mum’s 70th birthday. We will continue to do what we can to raise awareness so others can be supported.
