Mum and son died from pancreatic cancer 'but were both told it was irritable bowel syndrome'

A mother and brother died from the same cancer but were both initially told their symptoms were down to irritable bowel syndrome.

Katrin Merry was just 23 years old when she lost her mum, 59-year-old Mavis Dallinger to pancreatic cancer 21 years ago.

She saw how her mother battled with the pain for months before she was finally given a diagnosis.However, by that point, it was too late. Mavis died on December 15 in 2001 after battling the cancer for 18 months, and having chemotherapy.

Before she was diagnosed, Katrin said her mother was told the pain she was experiencing was due to irritable bowel syndrome, which shares many of the same symptoms as pancreatic cancer. The symptoms include stomach aches, tiredness, back pain and a change to bowel habits.

But when Mavis started to lose weight, Katrin urged her to go back and insisted on having further tests.

Speaking about that time, Katrin said: "She didn't complain about the pain or anything like that, she was an amazingly strong woman, she got on with it, so we just knew something wasn't right. She went back to the doctors for more tests, and at that point it was already too late.

"We were trying to stay positive. She will get through this, but there was no treatment for her other than chemo, and that was it. She passed away 18 months after her diagnosis.

"She was an amazing woman. She ran her own business caring for people with special needs, she had four children and she had grandchildren, we all loved her very, very much."

As a way of coping with her grief, Katrin, now 44, and her older sister Charlotte Thomas have thrown themselves into fundraising and raising awareness of the disease. They have completed marathons, treks and hosted charity nights.

"Then, in 2016, we were training for a half marathon, and that is when our brother Mark was diagnosed," Katrin said.

"The awful thing - he had the same symptoms as mum, and again he was told it was IBS. He said to them, 'I have pain in my back like my mum had', and he was of course so worried because he saw my mum go through it. And he was reassured it was IBS. And then he started to lose weight like our mother.

"I was running around Roath Park at the time and I answered my phone to him and he told me. I was like, what the hell, it didn't seem real that this could happen. "

Katrin said the family remained optimistic about the treatment Mark would receive, with so many years having passed since her mum's death.

"It was very hard for him, we tried to stay positive, we were looking into alternative treatments," she said.

"He was blasted with chemo. But he felt like there was no hope, he was like, 'I know what is going to happen to me'. He was 51 at the time. He left behind three children."

Following Mark's death, Katrin and Charlotte have continued their efforts by not only fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer UK, but also being part of the research themselves.

They are both screened for the disease each year in order to see if there is a familial connection which could explain how both Mark and Mavis died with the same cancer.

Katrin said: "Only 3% of Cancer Research funding is spent on research for Pancreatic cancer. There needs to be more funding to find alternative therapies. With other cancers, the treatment has come on so far, and also the awareness. No-one knows to look for these symptoms, even GPs need to be educated on diagnosing it."

Katrin herself was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. It was stage three and caught early and she received chemotherapy, radiotherapy and underwent surgery to treat the cancer.

"It brought back everything I have been through, but I felt lucky in a way, not lucky to have cancer, but lucky it was breast cancer as there is so much research and support for people. I just knew I had to fight for them."

Katrin and Charlotte recently returned from a self-funded trip to Jordan, and raised funds for Pancreatic Cancer UK in the run up to their trip. They also arranged for the watch tower on Roath Park Lake to be lit up in the colour purple to raise awareness of the disease.

Since 2015, they have raised £26,193.33 for the charity, which could fund 100 days of research or a nurse for 141 days.

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