Mum died after learning the true cause of her back pain – the deadliest cancer that kills HALF its victims within weeks

Unfortunately, it has a five-year survival rate of just 7.3 per cent. “It was the hardest moment of my life, but her strength and humour in the face of adversity was incredible. 

a woman is holding a newborn baby in a hospital bed
Gill, days before she died, with Lucy’s daughter Lottie the day she was bornCredit: Pancreatic Cancer Action/Family Handout
a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes smiles for the camera
Lucy Nibbs, whose mum Gill died from pancreatic cancerCredit: Pancreatic Cancer Action/Family Handout

Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.“She was very private about such things, so for her to disclose this meant she was very unwell.“Despite the pain and sadness, I find comfort in knowing she is at peace.”“Doctors suggested it could be due to hormonal imbalances connected to her thyroid removal, but there was no clear explanation.” 

MORE ON PANCREATIC CANCER

Her mum, an optical technician, had advanced cancer that had spread to her liver and possibly her brain, and there was nothing doctors could do. “They asked about her lifestyle, and she told them she didn’t drink or smoke,” Lucy says.The news devastated the family, but her mother, ever strong-willed, carried on with her life, even offering to go to work the day after receiving her diagnosis.Type 2 diabetes on the other hand is far more common, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the 4.4million adults with diabetes.

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“She was so healthy, so it was such a shock,” Lucy, a part-time administrator, says. That’s because symptoms can be vague, and often mask as something else entirely. The most common signs include:

A grandpa has been forced to eat just one meal a day to make his lifesaving medicine last

“Those who die from the disease are missed every single day. “However, when her back pain became unbearable, we knew it was time to push for more answers.So why did she die just months after being told she had pancreatic cancer?There are no lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk of type 1 diabetes.She had her thyroid removed after a previous cancer diagnosis, but seemed to recover well.“She made light of her weight loss, joking about it, but it was clear she wasn’t well. As the cancer grows and you do begin to show signs, these may come and go and be unspecific, making it hard to diagnose.

During her final months, she was cared for at the Hospice of Saint Francis in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, where she received what the family described as exceptional care. Lucy Nibbs

“I had a gut feeling something was terribly wrong,” Lucy recalls. “She was very weak but managed to touch and kiss Lottie. Mum had held on to life just long enough to see her new granddaughter.””Today, anyone aged 60 and above, presenting with weight loss and new-onset diabetes, will automatically be screened for pancreatic cancer. Gill chose not to undergo chemotherapy, preferring to avoid prolonged suffering.”The charity is now fighting for the age to be lowered. That’s almost as many as breast cancer (11,500), despite the latter affecting more than 10 times as many people. However, you can be on the lookout for:

a woman in a wedding dress is laying in a hospital bed
Gill in her hospice bed with her grandchildren on the day of her blessingCredit: Pancreatic Cancer Action/Family Handout
a group of people are posing for a picture in front of an exit sign
Lucy with her daughters Julia, Jessica and LottieCredit: Pancreatic Cancer Action/Family Handout
a woman in a red top is holding a child in her arms
Gill didn’t drink or smoke, she wasn’t overweight and she ‘walked everywhere’Credit: Pancreatic Cancer Action/Family Handout

It wasn’t until her back pain became unbearable that Lucy and her whole family pushed for further tests.Cancer of the pancreas – a gland located in the abdomen – kills nearly 10,000 people in the UK every year.“She wasn’t overweight, didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, and walked everywhere. None of us understood why it happened. “I kept seeing news articles about pancreatic cancer, and her symptoms matched everything I had read.” In the next few months, these symptoms worsened, but they were repeatedly attributed to diabetes. 

WORST FEARS CONFIRMED

“She had lost about two stone by this point and had been seeing doctors, who attributed everything to her diabetes. Life returned to normal until she was “unexpectedly” diagnosed with type 1 diabetes – when blood sugar levels are too high because the body can’t make the hormone insulin.  And she’s not alone. Half of all patients with the condition die within three months of being given the devastating news. It affects around 344,000 people in the UK.Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the UK. “After a difficult labour, I went straight to the hospice to show her to my mum,” she says.

Symptoms of pancreatic cancer

It was the hardest moment of my life, but her strength and humour in the face of adversity was incredible

There are two main types of diabetes, which causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high.GILL Nibbs was a “vibrant” woman who lived a seemingly perfectly healthy lifestyle. 

  • 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 

“In 2022, Pancreatic Cancer Action successfully campaigned for changes to the system. It can affect anyone of any age, and it occurs equally in men and women. But you may be at higher risk of type 2 diabetes if you are overweight or obese, eat unhealthily, have a family history of the condition, take certain medications for a long time, have high blood pressure, and have had gestational diabetes during pregnancy.People of Asian, Black African or African Caribbean origin are also at increased risk. “If we had recognised it earlier, mum may still be here.” Source: NHS and Diabetes UKBy the time Gill was diagnosed, it was too late for life-saving surgery.

‘The hardest moment of my life’

“Pancreatic cancer symptoms are too often missed. Lucy, a mum-of-three from Essex, is now determined to build a future where as many people as possible have the chance to survive this devastating disease. But she managed to hang on just long enough to give her new granddaughter a hello, and goodbye, kiss. “Her persistent weight loss and frequent bathroom visits were brushed off.“She never complained, but we could tell she felt terrible. Her blood sugar levels were out of control, despite doing everything right, and she began to lose weight rapidly.But she and her family don’t want other families to have to go through the same, potentially avoidable pain.Just five days later, on August 1, 2011, grandmother-of-seven Gill died surrounded by her family aged 57.  Gill even wore a wedding dress in her hospice bed. PANCREATIC cancer doesn’t always cause symptoms in its early stages.

  • 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 

Though her condition worsened, she managed to share precious moments with her relatives, including a beautiful blessing ceremony with her partner, John, just days after celebrating her birthday.

a woman sitting next to a woman in a hospital bed
Lucy (left) while was pregnant while her mum was in the hospiceCredit: Pancreatic Cancer Action/Family Handout
a woman in a blue shirt is eating a piece of bread
Gill a year before her devastating diagnosisCredit: Pancreatic Cancer Action/Family Handout

“I knew it was time,” Lucy says.Gill’s story began nearly five years before her pancreatic cancer diagnosis.”This is why World Cancer Day on February 4 is so important to recognise that with more funding and perseverance in research, improvements are continuing, and one day, we will beat cancer.”They add: “Just under 40 per cent of all pancreatic cancer patients will receive a diagnosis of diabetes before their cancer is discovered. In some cases, this us up to three years earlier. “Every month, over 800 UK families experience the often unexpected and devastating loss of a loved one to pancreatic cancer. Despite following medical advice, her mother’s health deteriorated, with alarming weight loss and uncontrolled blood sugar levels. 

Type 1 vs type 2 diabetes

“I sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow to her as she passed away peacefully and without pain,” Lucy, also mum to Jessica, who was eight at the time, and Julia, who turned six on the day her grandmother died, says. “It wasn’t until she admitted she couldn’t get off the toilet that I knew something was seriously wrong. Her diagnosis simply came too late. “We thought everything was going to be OK as it wasn’t that serious,” Lucy, 42, says. “Know the symptoms because when they’re missed, precious moments will be missed forever. If you are concerned, speak to your GP, and don’t be afraid to push for answers.In March 2011, after medics “finally listened”, Lucy’s worst fears were confirmed. “Know the symptoms because your doctor might not.”In a bittersweet turn of events, Lucy, who had been pregnant this whole time, gave birth to her daughter, Lottie, on July 27, 2011. 

“She walked everywhere, didn’t smoke or drink, and wasn’t overweight,” her daughter Lucy tells Sun Health.She says: “I just wish we were aware of the symptoms. A spokesperson for the charity Pancreatic Cancer Action says: “When the symptoms of pancreatic cancer are missed, everything is missed – early diagnosis, life-saving treatment, and precious moments with loved ones.“The doctor suggested her stressful life might have been a factor, considering the constant fluctuations in her hormone levels.”

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Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce the hormone insulin. It occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells don’t react to it properly.

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