Pancreatic cancer diagnosed in a mother who thought her Slimming World diet was working

A mother of three was devastated when her impressive weight loss turned out to be stage 2 pancreatic cancer.

Liz Oakley, 65, from East Kilbride, Scotland, felt "proud" when she noticed weight loss after starting a low diet. in bold in October 2017.

But in the following December, she began to feel nauseated and her urine was exceptionally dark. In January 2018, her skin had turned yellow, which prompted her to see a doctor.

It was at that time that she was diagnosed with shock, her third contact with a potentially fatal cancer.

Shock: Liz Oakley, 65, of East Kilbride, Scotland, photographed during his "successful" diet

Ms. Oakley, who was told that if she had left it much longer, it could have been too late, said, "I am a resilient person, but it has put me a little bit in the dark." # 39; s shelter. It came from nowhere.

"I was transferred to the hospital and the doctors said they found a blockage. I do not know how, but at that moment, I just knew. I told them, "It's a cancer, is not it?"

"I was told it was the second step, but if I waited longer, I would not be here anymore. It's the speed of this disease.

Ms. Oakley, who has three grown children – Louise, 35, Peter, 33, and Aiden, 30 – had already fought bad cancer in 2007 and 2012.

However, after radiotherapy and, after the second time, after a mastectomy, she enjoyed good years of health until she started losing weight by the end of 2017.

She explained, "I had joined a group of slimming a few months ago and I was so happy because I thought it worked fine.

"In fact, I was pretty happy to tell people that it was because I had not eaten very fine pies before Christmas, as I would usually do."

Urgent: The mother of three – pictured here in her hospital bed – contracted jaundice in January 2018, which resulted in an unexpected diagnosis.

At the end of December, Mrs. Oakley, from East Kilbride, Scotland, feeling nauseous and starved, noticed that her urine was very dark.

After her daughter noticed her strange pallor in January 2018, she knew she needed to see a doctor.

"She asked me why I was so yellow / orange. I wore tinted glbades, so I did not really notice it, but when I removed them, I looked like a tango.

Calling the NHS number 111 non-urgent, she went to the Medway Hospital in Kent, where she was immediately admitted.

The retiree had no idea that his new and improved diet was not responsible for his weight loss

Admitted: On January 6, 2018, she was officially diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and referred to Kings College Hospital in South London for surgery.

The doctors went into action by performing a series of tests and quickly discovering a disturbing blockage in his pancreas.

On January 6, she was officially diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and transferred to Kings College Hospital in South London for surgery.

"The care I received was incredible. Everything went wrong and my appointment for surgery was taken immediately, she said. "Back at home after my diagnosis, I did what we all do and I looked for my health on Google. I was reading all those awful stories and poor survival statistics, and I just did not want it to be that way.

"I did not see much in the people who pbaded and went on the other side of the diagnosis. My way of coping was simply to isolate myself from these statistics.

Barely 12 days after her diagnosis, Ms. Oakley underwent surgery to remove her pancreas, duodenum, gallbladder and bile ducts.

While she remains eternally grateful to have been seen so quickly, she was surprised at her rapid deterioration as she waited for her operation.

"I lost two stones in a few weeks. I was shocked to see what frail old woman I became, "she said. "But I feel so lucky to have received the care I've done.

"I want people to know that it is possible. You have read articles about misdiagnosis and stratagems, but I am living proof that you can survive if everything is done right. & # 39;

Alarmed: "I lost two stones in a few weeks. I was shocked to see what frail old woman I became, "she said. "But I feel so lucky to have received the care I've done.

Family support: in the photo of Mrs. Oakley with two of her adult children, Peter, 33, and Aiden, 30

Following her operation, Dr. Oakley underwent six-month chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy – a combination of treatments – to remove cancer cells found at the margins of the area where the tumor had been surgically removed.

Now, though, although she continues to be examined regularly and meets with consultants to discuss her care, she no longer has treatment.

Because of the precarious position of its tumor, near some blood vessels, doctors can not guarantee that the disease – which we do not think is related to its bad cancer – has disappeared – but for the moment she feels positive.

Since her diagnosis, she is supported by the Pancreatic Cancer UK Charitable Foundation and supports their call to the government to treat all patients with pancreatic cancer within 20 days of diagnosis.

And she hopes her story will raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer – back and abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss, changes in bowel habits, jaundice, nausea, and digestive problems.

She said: "People know the signs of bad cancer, the signs of the testes, they have to see a doctor if they discover a mbad – but they are not aware of pancreatic cancer. I did not know that my symptoms could be related.

"Pancreatic cancer is appalling and takes more lives than it leaves, but not all stories are zero. A year later, I am doing things that I never thought I could do.

"If it happens five years later, it's five years longer than I would have had. I am absolutely convinced that we can beat that if more people are diagnosed faster. & # 39;