Clair Honeywood, 45, was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer after mistaking her symptoms for IBS. She now has just 18 months to live and is undergoing chemotherapy
A woman received a devastating diagnosis after she mistook her stomach pain for IBS.
Clair Honeywood, 45, went to hospital with stomach pains and after multiple visits was shocked to learn she had stage 3 pancreatic cancer. The doctors told her she had just 18 months to live.
Pancreatic is among the deadliest cancers and is often diagnosed too late as its symptoms are mistaken for other everyday conditions.
Clair said: “It’s not normal for someone my age to get this cancer. It’s a silent cancer, too. It is really tricky.
“The doctors said to just go home and make memories.”
It all began with stomach pains, which she initially thought were caused by Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). When the pain persisted, she visited the hospital, where doctors conducted tests and found an abnormality in her pancreas but couldn’t immediately diagnose her condition.
The mum-of-two’s pain worsened, and her eyes and skin started yellowing as she developed jaundice, which typically occurs when the liver and pancreas fail to clear toxins from the body.
She said: “When you don’t know what’s happening your mind just goes to some dark places. You just feel like your whole world ended. You just think about your kids.”
In a heart-wrenching update, doctors informed her that she was battling stage 3 pancreatic cancer.
The mum discovered she had a C-shaped tumour entwined around a major artery, rendering surgery nearly impossible. While chemotherapy could hinder the tumour’s progress, it wouldn’t lengthen her forecasted survival time of roughly 18 months.
Tragically, over 50% of individuals diagnosed with this form of cancer pass away within three months of their diagnosis.
She said: “My poor consultant didn’t want to tell me but I begged him to tell me.
“The doctors told me that the cancer had not spread, but then they said it was not operable.
“I am only 45 and you don’t expect to go through this at this age. There is still hope but at the moment I am just focusing on the three months in chemotherapy. Life is for living, the body can’t survive without the mind so I have to be positive.”
In light of her condition, she and her partner, together for over two decades, intend to tie the knot post-chemotherapy.
Common symptoms of the deadly disease include: unexplained weight loss, indigestion, abdominal and back pain, loss of appetite, changes to bowel habits, and jaundice.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Clair’s friend to help fund the wedding, and donations can be made at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/clair-honeywood.