Losing weight, diarrhoea and loss of appetite are symptoms associated with a number of common health issues, and may not cause alarm for many but did for me when I suddenly started experiencing them in the summer of 2007. After several visits to the GP, I was told that I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome - but that diagnosis wasn't good enough for me.
I pestered my GP to refer me to a specialist after I was prescribed painkillers that didn't ease the mid-back pain that I was experiencing. But when the pain shifted round to my ribcage, I fast-tracked myself, with the help of a locum GP and my husband's private medical insurance, to a specialist who arranged for me to have a scan.
This saved my life. I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which was absolutely devastating, but I was very lucky to be diagnosed early enough to have surgery that would increase my chances of surviving the disease. Life-saving treatment may not have been an option if my scan was delayed to the following week but here I am, 10 years on.
Pancreatic cancer is so aggressive that early diagnosis and treatment are essential. Yet very few people are aware of the signs and risks so early detection is extremely uncommon. I was stunned to hear that for nearly my entire lifetime, treatment options and diagnostic tools have remained relatively unchanged.
More than 90% of the population in the UK doesn't know much about pancreatic cancer and its symptoms. I was one of those people. I hadn't even heard about it until the consultant surgeon sat me down on August 30, 2007 to tell me I had a tumour in the body of my pancreas, and that I needed surgery as soon as possible. It seemed impossible to all of us. I was 41 and otherwise healthy. I didn't smoke. I drank in moderation. I was not a candidate for pancreatic cancer and the diagnosis wasn't even considered by any general practitioner I saw.
It wasn't until after the surgery - which removed my spleen, part of my pancreas and affected lymph nodes - that I understood that only one in 10 patients with this diagnosis can be operated on at all. Even fewer survive the first five years.
A slow diagnosis delays patients' referrals to the right specialists, which is crucial. I would advise anyone with symptoms not normal for them to be persistent. The speed of my diagnosis meant it was still possible to remove the tumour followed by chemotherapy.
I have made it my mission to help others survive. I founded Pancreatic Cancer Action to ensure more are diagnosed sooner by raising awareness of the disease, funding research into early diagnosis, and pushing for greater investment into research, to discover more treatment options for those who are diagnosed.
November 16 is World Pancreatic Cancer Day and, on that day, more than 60 organisations from 27 countries on six continents will come together as part of the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition to raise awareness, inspire action and demand better for patients now and in the future.
For me, World Pancreatic Cancer Day 2017 will be particularly meaningful since I will be celebrating 10 years survival. My story, however, is a rarity among those diagnosed with this dreadful disease. Every day, more than 1,000 worldwide will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and an estimated 985 will die from the disease.
There are many ways you can take action on World Pancreatic Cancer Day, but it starts with learning the symptoms and risks for the world's toughest cancer. Some warning signs, like yellowing skin or eyes, might immediately cause you to see a doctor. Yet many other symptoms are vague and often disregarded, like the persistent mid-back pain I experienced. That's why it's so important to know the signs to look for, and if you experience symptoms, persist in raising them with your doctors until you have an answer. By better understanding how pancreatic cancer impacts our own bodies - or those of our loved ones -- we can all become a part of the effort to improve the chances of survival.