alt Hacker NewsMy dad passed in 2020 from pancreatic cancer. He'd been to the doctor several times complaining about issues and all they would do is send him home with laxatives. Eventually it got bad enough my mom ran him to the ER when they found the cancer which had progressed into its final stages already. He was dead less than a month later.
Similar story with a guy I worked with. He went home sick one day. A few days later our boss told us he was sick and had pancreatic cancer. He came into the office to say goodbye to us a few weeks later and then died about 10 days after that.
Fuck cancer
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FWIW it's commonly the case with cancers of abdominal organs: stomach, pancreas, liver, kidney, etc. These cancers are frequently not diagnosed until at an advanced stage. Symptoms tend to be nonspecific, overlap with ubiquitous conditions like constipation, gastritis.
A goal of research is improving early detection of these cancers but it's an uphill battle. It's difficult to increase providers' "index of suspicion" of seemingly "minor" complaints.
Absolutely terrible. As human beings, we should be prioritizing solving these kinds of problems. I don't think we need to live forever, but a graceful ending later in life remains an objective we haven't fully realized for everyone.
Matt Bencke's pancreatic cancer story has stuck with me.
First sign in May, followed by several doctor visits which treat the symptoms.
In late July, he heads to the ER. Multiple tests later, he and his wife get the diagnosis.
He dies less than three months later.
see https://www.wired.com/story/the-day-i-found-out-my-life-was-...