Two sisters who lost both their mother and father to pancreatic cancer are speaking out to help others recognise the warning signs of what charities describe as the deadliest common cancer.
Rebekah Stubbs, 44, a former primary school teacher, and her sister Laura Smith, 36, who works as a nurse, watched their mother, Susan Smith, succumb to the disease in February 2012, before their father, Richard Smith, died from the same illness in October 2023.
“Not only did mum die of it, but then dad did too. You couldn’t write it,” Rebekah told PA Real Life.
Neither parent displayed typical risk factors for the disease. Laura explained: “They weren’t smokers and they weren’t drinkers.
Laura and Rebekah say neither of their parents displayed typical risk factors for pancreatic cancer
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PA REAL LIFE
“They probably had a bit of whiskey every so often, but they went to a fitness club and looked after themselves.”
The family first noticed something amiss with Susan during the summer of 2011. Rebekah recalled her mother repeatedly swallowing as though something was lodged in her throat, while also experiencing persistent thirst.
Laura added that their mother suffered from “acid reflux” and generally felt “not well in herself”.
After making numerous visits to her GP, Susan was prescribed antacids that proved ineffective.
Her condition deteriorated rapidly over subsequent weeks, with digestive problems, difficulty eating, yellowing skin and nausea.
An ultrasound in October 2011 confirmed the devastating diagnosis. Laura said: “Because mum was a nurse, I remember her looking in the mirror and thinking, ‘I look, and I feel as if I’ve got something nasty going on’, (and) she was right.”
Doctors discovered a tumour on the head of her pancreas that had spread to the bile ducts, causing the jaundice.
Susan underwent surgery to insert stents into her bile ducts to alleviate the jaundice, followed by chemotherapy that left her severely unwell.
By Christmas, she could no longer keep food down and struggled to manage her pain medication. Her condition worsened dramatically when fluid accumulated around her abdomen, requiring drainage.
Her death came unexpectedly. Laura recalled: “It was quite a sudden death. She had been sitting in bed and talking to us and had been quite content.
“And then, unfortunately, she had a big seizure and passed away quite unexpectedly.”
Richard was not present when his wife died at 55; he had left to visit a hospice where Susan might receive care.
Susan and Richard both died soon after they were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
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PA REAL LIFE
“Dad had actually gone to have a look around a hospice for mum. Then he returned, and mum was no longer here,” Laura said.
Following Susan’s death, the sisters cared for their maternal grandmother, who had dementia and passed away in February 2022.
Within a year, Richard began experiencing persistent back pain on his right side. He consulted a physiotherapist and visited his GP, but despite blood tests, his condition continued to worsen over several months.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, Laura eventually took her father to A&E in July 2023, where they waited 12 hours.
Scans and blood tests revealed liver abnormalities, and a subsequent biopsy confirmed pancreatic cancer.
Richard received enzyme replacement therapy and was scheduled for palliative chemotherapy. However, by late August, he suffered a car accident, initially thought to be a stroke but later attributed to cancer spreading to his brain.
Rebekah said: “His personality wasn’t even the same. He seemed to lose his mobility.”
Richard died in October 2023, aged 70, just three months after diagnosis. In the aftermath of losing both parents, Rebekah contacted Pancreatic Cancer UK to share her family’s experience. She described the decision as part of her grieving process.
The sisters are campaigning for improved awareness, faster diagnostic pathways and better recognition of symptoms.
Susan, Laura, Richard and Rebekah
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PA REAL LIFE
According to NHS guidance, key warning signs include yellowing of the skin or eyes, itchy skin, altered bowel habits, appetite loss, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, fever, nausea and indigestion.
Pancreatic Cancer UK statistics reveal that approximately half of those diagnosed die within three months.
The sisters expressed optimism about a pioneering clinical study funded by the charity that could enable detection through a breath test.
“Hopefully, that’ll be successful. It’s a quicker route (to diagnosis) than surgery, and that’s got to be positive,” Laura said