Hove woman calls for early cancer diagnosis tests

Jay Newell-Hughes died in February, just seven months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

He had contacted his GP “a dozen times" to complain of vomiting and acid reflux, but his concerns were dismissed.

It was not until he was referred for scans by another doctor that the cancer was revealed, but by this stage it had spread to his liver, meaning potentially life-saving treatment was not an option.

Jay died just seven months after his diagnosis

His wife, Mihika Newell-Hughes, from Hove, said: “It would be amazing if they had a way of doing a quick test. Jay could have either got longer or been able to do more if he’d been diagnosed earlier.

“It stopped him from being able to have an operation or go on to any clinical trials that there might have been. It was as if everything had just been ripped away in five minutes, all the plans we had - we were going to have a second child, we even had names.”

There are currently no screening programmes or early detection tests available for pancreatic cancer, meaning CT scans are the only method available for doctors to diagnose it early.

However, one in five GPs said they were rarely or never able to refer someone who they suspected of having the cancer for a scan within the 28-day target.

Thirty six per cent of doctors surveyed said they had sufficient access to scans just “some of the time”.

Jay, Kal, and Mihika

Now, Mihika, 33, is calling for public help as she supports Pancreatic Cancer UK’s Unite-Diagnose-Save-Lives project, which is developing a blood test to detect the disease.

“Jay really wanted to help raise awareness because he was horrified reading the stories of how many people going through the same thing,” she said.

“He didn't want this to happen to anyone else, and he was so angry. He never wanted his boy to be without a dad.”

Jay's son, Kal, is now without a father at just six years old.

Jay and Mihika had planned to have another child

The charity has spent £1.6 million on the project so far, but needs public funds for the next phase of the research.

It said that “despite causing a death of a similar number of people annually as breast cancer, pancreatic cancer receives 93 per cent less research funding”.

Diana Jupp, chief executive of Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “Eighty per cent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year will be told ‘sorry, it’s too late. We can’t save you’.

“These are the same words the majority of patients and their loved ones have been hearing for the last 50 years. We have hardly made any progress.”

The charity reports that more than half of people with pancreatic cancer will die within three months of diagnosis.

Jay, Kal and Mihika

“We simply cannot allow this to continue,” said Diana.

“We have to give doctors the innovative new tools they need to detect the warning signs earlier, so they can ensure those who need it receive treatment as soon as possible.

Pancreatic Cancer UK is urging people to pledge support via its website.