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DOCTORS initially told Chris Sibson he was diabetic. It came as a bit of a shock after years of healthy eating and exercise, but the dad-of-two took his medication as advised.
However, 10 days later, he discovered the true cause of his symptoms – and that he might have just months to live.
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Chris, 48, first went to the doctor in May 2024 when he started rapidly losing weight.
His GP believed it was due to unregulated blood sugar levels and diagnosed him with diabetes, but follow-up scans uncovered a tumour.
Chris, a senior sales manager from Colliers Wood, South West London, tells Sun Health: “I had lost around 11lbs (5kg) over maybe six weeks without trying.
“I was also feeling tired during the day, but I would have a quick nap and feel fine.
READ MORE ON PANCREATIC CANCER
“My wife was worried, so she made me go to the doctor.
“I was seen quickly and first diagnosed with diabetes – though they were unsure if it was type 1 or 2 as I hadn’t had any prediabetic symptoms.
“I thought this was strange, and as soon as I started taking the medication I began to feel even worse.
“Luckily, another doctor suggested checking me for cancer, and sadly, they were right.”
Chris, who was “generally fit and played golf”, had several tests in A&E and asked the doctor there to also look at his CT scan results.
When his wife Siyana, 49, production manager, came to join him, he knew something was seriously wrong.
“It was then that I discovered I had pancreatic cancer,” he says.
“That was on a Friday, and my GP contacted me on Monday morning to inform me of the results.
“I had to explain that I already knew.”
Chris underwent surgery to remove the tumour, as well as half of his pancreas and his spleen, followed by 12 rounds of chemotherapy.
“It was brutal,” he says. “I dropped from 14st 2lbs (90kg) to 11st 4lbs (72kg) and then 10st 12lbs (69kg).
“I spent the week after each chemo session with nausea, sickness, diarrhoea, constipation and fatigue.”
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Unfortunately, after just six months, the cancer returned. This time, it was even more aggressive and sadly, inoperable.
Chris was told the tumour in his pancreas was 1.9in (4.8cm) long and 0.4in (1cm) wide, and it had spread to his lymph nodes.
He is now undergoing a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, gene therapy, and immunotherapy in an effort to shrink the tumour and prolong his life.
“The side effects aren’t as bad this time and only last two days, but the first day is the worst,” Chris, who is dad to Beatrice, 18, and 14-year-old Florence, both students, says.
“I really hope this works. Then I will undergo next generation sequencing to identify alterations in my tumour.
“It costs £3,200 just to see if it’s possible, so the impact on my family is huge.”
When Chris called to say the cancer had come back, it was the worst phone call I’ve ever received
Paul Rogers
Cancer of the pancreas – a gland located in the abdomen – kills nearly 10,000 people in the UK every year.
That’s almost as many as breast cancer (11,500), despite the latter affecting more than 10 times as many people.
It can affect anyone of any age, and it occurs equally in men and women.
Unfortunately, it has a five-year survival rate of just seven per cent.
That’s because symptoms can be vague, and often mask as something else entirely. The most common signs include:
- Bloating
- Pain (usually in the abdomen or back)
- Digestive problems (e.g. poor appetite, indigestion, nausea)
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)
- Diarrhoea, constipation or both
- Unexplained weight loss
- Tenderness, swelling or pain caused by a blood clot
- A diabetes diagnosis
Chris says: “I wish all people knew the symptoms because they are so subtle or even hidden.
“I’m 48 and if I had been diagnosed a year earlier, I would not have had to go through the treatment I have .
“It would have also saved the NHS spending over £100,000 trying to save me .
“People should be checked for pancreatic cancer even without symptoms.
“I was lucky that I lost weight; lots of patients never show symptoms until it’s too late.”
The terrifying truth about pancreatic cancer
PANCREATIC cancer is the 10th most common in the UK, accounting for three per cent of new cancer cases.
But it is considered one of the most deadly.
Around 10,786 people are diagnosed every year in the UK, and 9,558 lose their lives.
More than half of people die within three months of being diagnosed.
Just 4.3 per cent of patients survive the disease for 10 years or more.
Pancreatic Cancer UK predicts that the number of people dying from it annually will overtake breast cancer by 2027.
Sadly, the disease doesn’t always cause symptoms in its early stages.
As the cancer grows and you do begin to show signs, these may come and go and be unspecific, making it hard to diagnose.
However, you can be on the lookout for:
- Indigestion – a painful, burning feeling in your chest with an unpleasant taste in your mouth
- Tummy or back pain – it may start as general discomfort or tenderness in the tummy area and spread to the back, which get worse lying down and feel better is you sit forward
- Diarrhoea and constipation – see a GP if you have runny poos for more than seven days, especially if you’ve lost weight as well
- Steatorrhoea – pale, oily poo that’s bulky, smells horrible and floats, making it hard to flush
- Losing a lot of weight without meaning to
- Jaundice – yellow skin and eyes, as well as dark pee, pale poo and itchy skin
As Chris started his treatment privately, he is unable to switch to the NHS system and is now facing huge medical bills.
His friend of 15 years, Paul Rogers, has set up a fundraiser to help cover the costs.
Paul, who met Chris while working together at Greene King, said: “I spoke to him every day through his first round of treatment.
“When he called to say the cancer had come back, it was the worst phone call I’ve ever received.”
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Paul, 52, decided he couldn’t stand by and do nothing, so he launched a Collection Pot, asking friends and family to contribute.
To his surprise, it has now raised almost £8,000.
To encourage further donations, Paul will attempt to lift 23 tonnes in the gym on September 17.
“If I’m going to ask people for money, I need to earn it,” he says.
“I will be pushing, pulling and lifting weights over four disciplines until I reach 23 tonnes.
“However hard it may sound, it’s nothing compared to what Chris is going through, so please dig deep and give all you can.”
Pancreatic cancer and diabetes – a cellular case of chicken and egg
DIABETES can be both a risk factor for and a potential early symptom of pancreatic cancer.
Many describe it as a “chicken and egg” situation, as there is a clear link between the two conditions, but it’s not clear which comes first.
“While the majority of people with diabetes will never develop pancreatic cancer, the question of whether diabetes could be a cause or a consequence of pancreatic cancer is an important one,” Jana Witt writes for Cancer Research UK.
“Answering this could help scientists better understand the biology of these two conditions, and might help spot people at higher risk of pancreatic cancer.”
Studies first linked the two in the 1940s and 50s, when patients with pancreatic cancer were found to be more likely to also have diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) than other people.
Since then, research has repeatedly shown a connection.
“Overall, it seems that people with diabetes are around twice as likely to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer than the general population,” Jana says.
“And this makes sense, given that diabetes and pancreatic cancer are diseases that both affect the pancreas.”
It could be all to do with an intolerance to sugar. Eight in 10 people with pancreatic cancer have some level of intolerance to sugar, and up to five in 10 have diabetes.
In cancer patients who have diabetes, the condition is often diagnosed shortly before, or after, their cancer diagnosis, suggesting that the diabetes is a symptom of the developing cancer, rather than its cause.
Dan Howarth, from Diabetes UK, says: “As the cancer may affect the insulin producing cells, or cause the insulin to be less effective, diabetes can sometimes be the first symptom [of pancreatic cancer].”
Newly-diagnosed diabetes was added to the list of ‘red flags’ of pancreatic cancer by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2015.
