Lauren

I was diagnosed as having a 4cm tumour in my pancreas at the start of Feb 2017, after being admitted once again to hospital. I was really poorly. I couldn’t eat or keep anything down, not even water and since November 2016 I had lost a lot of weight.

It began with a skin rash

This all began January 2015. The day after my little girl was born I developed a rash on my feet then hands, which gradually through time became widespread to my full body. My groin area and under my breasts was like raw weeping skin, extremely painful. Each doctors’ appointment, sometimes 4 times a week (yes it was that bad), I was passed off with anti fungal creams and creams for psoriasis – nothing helped.

It took two years to get a diagnosis

My health was deteriorating very quickly and from November 2016 I was pretty much bed bound. I was very breathless on slight exertion and also developed a very painful tongue. I had also been referred to a dermatologist in Jan 2016 who over the time had performed 6 biopsies, all inconclusive but I was told it was psoriasis.

Then in February of this year I was finally given a CT scan which showed clots on both lungs and a tumor in my pancreas.

Treatment with octreotide and surgery

I was put on octreotide injections and blood thinning injections which made me feel 10 times better. I had surgery on the 27th March where the tumor has been removed with slight damage to the spleen, but all was contained.

What a journey

All is well – I’ve just had an appointment in Glasgow. I need no further treatment and back in 6 months. What a journey it has been. My life and my family’s was turned upside down.

June 2017