A Northern Ireland woman died after doctors thought that her cancer symptoms were constipation, reports The Mirror.
Sharon Deegan died of pancreatic cancer in January 2021, aged just 49, after complaining of pain in her side.
However, doctors sent her home from the hospital several times after diagnosing his cancer symptoms as constipation – before discovering a large tumor in her pancreas.
After the biopsy, she received the sad news that the cancer had already begun to spread. Sharon battled cancer for three and a half years before she passed away, reports The Mirror.
Her partner Allister Brown told Belfast Live: “She started taking pains in her side and back. This went on for a few months with doctors diagnosing constipation. I took her to A&E numerous times until eventually a doctor asked for a CT scan to make sure nothing else was triggering the pain. They kept Sharon in for the scan and the following day I got a call. She was in tears and asked me to get down to the hospital urgently. She said she hadn’t got good news,” reports The Mirror.
“It was a large tumour to the head of the pancreas which was likely to be cancer. Sharon was amongst 15% of people in the UK able to receive a Whipple’s operation to remove the head of the pancreas. However after a biopsy, it was discovered the cancer had already started to spread. Treatment was available and Sharon needed 24/7 care. Work allowed me to set up an office from home and I nursed her for the next three and a half years. She fought right to the last breath and taught us all how to change our mindset to life. A true cancer warrior,” he added, reports The Mirror.
Now the man from Co Antrim, who already holds a double world record, will be awake for a week trying to set a new record by drumming for 150 hours straight.
If he succeeds, Alistair will enter the Guinness Book of Records for the third time.
He said: “People never think anything bad is going to happen to them until it does. Pancreatic cancer survival rates are very low because it is usually not picked up in time. Sharon did have a chance to get an operation known as the Whipple’s procedure which only around 15% of patients are eligible for but recovery was far too difficult for her. Watching someone you love die of this cruel disease is just horrific. NIPANC is working to fund research which is something we all need to get behind and support,” reports The Mirror.
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