A MUM-of-two has died from a cancer described as a “quiet killer” after her dad found her in agonising pain.
Verna Jackson, 50, was found with intense stomach pains outside a coffee shop in her home town of Formby, Merseyside.
After her dad demanded she’d be seen by a GP, she was prescribed with medication for a stomach ulcer.
Failing to get rid of the pain, she was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Verna sadly died five weeks later, reports the Mirror.
Her sister Yvonne Powell said Verna was taken to hospital over the Easter bank holiday weekend – but was told they told couldn’t scan her.
“She was in a lot of pain over the four days of the bank holiday weekend, she went back up to A&E, my mum took her, and they kept her in,” Yvonne added.
“That was when they actually scanned her.”
The family recall knowing “she wasn’t going to make it” as they gathered round her bedside.
With cancer now affecting one in two people, Cancer Research UK says only seven per cent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive five years.
Diana Jupp, the charity’s CEO, said: “The message from health professionals is frighteningly clear – the pandemic, staff shortages and underfunding have all pushed the NHS to breaking point.
“Pancreatic cancer is the quickest killing cancer, and any delays to diagnosis and treatment could cost people their chance of survival. There is no time to wait.
“Governments across the UK must bring forward and implement funded cancer plans to deliver faster diagnosis and treatment that will save lives, not just this winter but well into the future.
“We cannot afford to continue lurching from one worsening crisis to another. People with pancreatic cancer, their loved ones, and hardworking NHS staff all deserve better.”
