Well did anyone read this in the paper or hear it on the news. A chap was given a terminal diagnosis, he was told he had Pancratic cancer and given max 12 months to live he was 62 then I think. He gave up his job, stopped paying his mortgage and spent time with his wife and family treating the in ways he could not have afford other than spending his life savings. He would not go abroad as he wanted needed to be near to his local hospital. He was worried. 
A year later he went back to the hospital/Doctor and was told he actually had Pancrititis a non life threatening disease and totaly treatable. .

It says in the paper his advice to us all is to always get a 2nd opnion.

I was surprised to read that he chose to spend all his money and default on his mortgage instead of making sure his wife wouldn't be penniless and homeless after his death. Odd priorities! ;)

Yes a true caring man of the new Millenium! :D

I found this strange too JG, but then thought (which considering my job should have been my first thought!) that he must have adequate life assurance / critical illness policies that will cover his family.

I feel sorry for this man... bless him and his family.
Imagine how his wife, children etc must have felt
(however i do agree with JG about him not paying his mortgage etc...
My dad had Pancrititis, ended up in I.T having his pancreas taken out.
He was on deaths door... howver thank the man upstairs he pulled through.
After leaving hospital my dad went back to the hospital for one of his follow up appointments.. he saw the surgeons understudy who asked my dad 'how his drinking problem was...!!'
My dad has never been a big drinker... a pint at a wedding or christening then its orange juice.
So its not only big drinkers who get Pancrititis..

Donnax
(and charlie of coursex)

I haven't read the report so am only commenting what I've read on here.  Surely, after he was told he was terminally ill and only had 12 months to live the doctors didn't just stand at the door and wave him bye bye?  If they had given him a definite diagnosis he would have been referred for treatment whether he was terminal or not.  If they hadn't given a definiate diagnosis he would have at least been given a referral back to his GP wouldn't he?  I know the NHS is not all its cracked up to be but I know they wouldn't deliberately leave you in the lurch like that and even if they did surely the patient would at some point visit his GP.

I'm sure they would, Cheryl. One of my chums is a Gynaecoloy Oncology Nurse Specialist and the minute someone gets a diagnosis she is in touch with them following them on their journey as she would put it either through treatment, palliative care or just councelling and support.  I'm sure 3 monthly Consultant appointments would be the norm, they don't just tell you and then say "so long mate" :)

I wish your Nurse was around here.... I know my friends daughter, who incidently has Spina Bifida, who has had cancer for the last year, she's only 18. Sadly it took them too long to diagnose it, pushed from pillar to post as she crossed over into Adult treatment, so they wouldn't do anything with her at Alder Hey. Now she is on last chance motel and never ever been offered anything at all!!! Nor has the family, some of which I blame the GP for...he hasn't been the most pro-active of Health care professionals!

That is sad Dawn, different Tusts and even different Departments are going to be better funded than other with these things but don't forget MacMillan Cancer Support, maybe they could be of help to them.

Thanks for that Isabel, sadly I think they are beyond reach now and very bitter....we have tried, at Church, to support them all, but they tend to go away every weekend to their caravan in the Lakes and withraw from all of us...I have tried to broach the subject of getting them help but alas I think they felt too neglected to accept it now...we were all of a mind...thinkng any day now, someone will pop up, pop in, phone etc...but sadly no...

Not everyone wants it of course.  They have each other at least.

Pancreatitis can also be caused by gallstones becoming lodged in the common bile duct and can indeed be life threatening.
The treatment is to rest the digestive system completely, giving fluids only, intravenously. When the symptoms settle the gall bladder is usually removed. I know!! Been there,got the T shirt etc.

Me too!!!

He said that he went to a MDT meeting which is a group of cancer doctors, so you wuold expect that they had the diagnosis right!  I thought good on him and what a great thing to do to do everything that you've ever wanted to do in your life before the end and now I feel so sorry for him!  Still at least now he's got a number of years in him and he was still in his house this morning so presume that it's already paid for??

An MDT is a multi disciplinary team.  It may have an oncology specialist there, in fact it probably will have, but they will not all be oncology doctors.  It does not necessarily follow that they would have a definate diagnosis come out of it.  In the Telegraph report it said they denied a definate diagnosis had been given.  I expect whatever was said would be well documented if there was an MDT meeting as minutes would have been taken.  No doubt it will all come out in court :)

Personally, I think the guy is a pillock!    He hasn't paid his mortgage - so the house will be repossessed - sold everything - spent everything - so who was going to bury him?   He came into the world with nothing - and he has nothing again - so it's time to start again.    If he gets as much as a penny piece from the NHS, it would be absolutely ludicrous - he has his life - is that not enough?

Tell that to some poor soul who has just lost someone suddenly - they would swap with him in a heartbeat if they could see a loved one again.

Margot (aka Mrs Grumpy)

Is divorced, has two children (one was only 16 at the time he was diagnosed)...but decided to spend his last days and all his money on his girlfriend of 16 years.

All sounds a bit odd to me and I think there is more to it than we've been told. Surely he would have made sure his children were financially safe ?.

I don't think there is treatment for pancreatic cancer, my friends mother was diagnosed with this last year, she was given 3 months, apparently with pancreatic cancer it is very difficult to diagnose and is usually only discovered through the presence of secondary tumours (liver in the case of my friends mum). My friend had real difficulty getting anything done for her mum and it was only when she didn't die, or go downhill as quickly as the doctors expected, that they began to take an interest. In the event she lived for 9 months after diagnosis - she never drank either btw.