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'I lost my parents to the same cancer and fear for my future'

Alice CunninghamSuffolk
News imageSupplied Two women and two men stand together in a line to pose for a photo. They are smiling and standing outside. The woman on the left has dark hair that is tied back and she is wearing a pink top. The man on her right has grey hair and wears a green coat and grey T-shirt. The man on his right is younger and has brown hair and wearing a denim shirt. The man at the far right has dark hair and wears a red and black chequered shirt. Supplied
Rebecca Bird (left) lost her dad, Timothy (middle left), last year to pancreatic cancer, just years after losing her mum to the same disease

When Rebecca Bird's dad died of pancreatic cancer, just years after her mum died of the same disease, she was left scared for her future.

She had noticed her dad suffering from similar symptoms to her mum, but by the time he was diagnosed, it was too late for him to receive treatment.

According to Pancreatic Cancer UK, seven in 10 people with the disease receive no treatment while existing treatment options are often too intensive for patients to tolerate.

Bird, 43, from Felixstowe in Suffolk, feared she might similarly develop this cancer and had been left frustrated at the lack of treatment options available to patients.

Bird's mum, Beverley, had been living in Australia when she was diagnosed in 2016.

Initially, doctors diagnosed her with type 2 diabetes, but when pain in her stomach and back worsened, doctors found an inoperable tumour on her pancreas.

Beverley was offered a clinical trial for Oncosil, an implanted device that releases radiation into the tumour to shrink it.

Bird said it had been "gruelling" for her mum, but it was successful in shrinking the mass, and she had surgery to remove it.

But after two years, the cancer returned.

News imageSupplied An old photo of three children and their mother sitting on a bench. An older teenage girl sits on the far left wearing a red T-shirt and shorts, she has red hair. A teenage boy sits on her right and he has short light brown hair that hangs over his forehead. He wears a grey T-shirt and dark trousers. A young girl sits next to him on the right. She has shoulder length brown hair and wears a yellow top and blue shorts. Their mother sits at the far end on the right. She has curly red hair and wears sunglasses, a white cardigan, orange top and blue denim shorts.Supplied
Bird's mother, Beverley (far right), had severe stomach pain before she was quickly told she had pancreatic cancer

"Mum didn't tell us that she'd known it had come back," Bird explained.

"We found that out after she passed, but I knew it was because she wouldn't go through that treatment again.

"It was horrendous for her."

Bird and her siblings did suspect something was wrong when their mum struggled with work.

But four days after she was rushed to hospital and told the cancer had returned, Beverley died aged 60, almost five years after her initial diagnosis.

Bird had tried to fly out to say goodbye, but she did not make it in time.

Despite the heartache, Bird was content her mother had been given enough time to make memories and "go out on her own terms".

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Bird's siblings, including her brother Sean (left), have been left worried for their futures after the death of Beverley (right) and their father

The same year her mum died in 2021, Bird's father, Timothy, started to feel unwell.

When he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and had issues with his stomach, she worried he may also have pancreatic cancer.

She said she regularly asked if it could be cancer, and doctors reassured her Timothy just needed to manage his diabetes and eat more, but in January 2025 he was really struggling to eat and was vomiting.

Eventually, an ultrasound found a blockage in his intestine.

News imageSupplied A woman and two men standing in a woods smiling at the camera. The woman has dark hair that has been tied back. She is wearing a white and blue floral top. The young man in the middle has short dark hair and is wearing a grey jumper. The older man on the right has grey hair and is wearing a red T-shirt.Supplied
Bird (left) said she found support and guidance through Pancreatic Cancer UK

"They came in with a diagram of where your pancreas is, and that's when I just looked at him, and he looked at me," Bird continued.

"I thought I've got to explain it to him that he's got what my mum had."

Timothy was told there was nothing that could be done to help, and he was given six months to live.

While Bird had investigated the clinical trial her mum had been on, hoping her dad could do the same, she said Oncosil was only available privately in the UK.

Timothy died in April last year, aged 65, and Bird again missed out on saying her final goodbyes.

News imageSupplied A woman and man in a selfie style image. The woman is wearing a black bucket hat and white T-shirt. Her dark curly hair can be seen flowing out from under the hat. The man has short grey hair and the photo cuts off just below his chin. Red stadium style seats are behind them.Supplied
Bird, pictured with her husband Matthew, wants other people to be aware of the signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer

Bird found support through Pancreatic Cancer UK and learned of similar cases to her dad's, where patients had been too unwell to face treatment.

She said she had also been left "very angry" at the lack of treatment options.

"I'm scared," she said of her own future.

"With dad, I've found my voice because I had to have a voice for my dad - he didn't have one, especially at the end.

"Me and my siblings are scared; we really are, and we are keeping on top of our health."

News imagePancreatic Cancer UK A woman smiles at the camera. She has long blonde hair, glasses and she is wearing a dark top with a high collar. The background behind her is a denim blue colour.Pancreatic Cancer UK
Victoria Hurwood from Pancreatic Cancer UK said pancreatic cancer received just 3% of the UK's cancer research budget

According to the NHS, pancreatic cancer may not present any symptoms in some people, or they might be hard to spot.

Some symptoms do include loss of appetite, weight loss, feeling or being sick and pain in your stomach and back.

Macmillan Cancer said that about one in 10 instances of pancreatic cancer are linked to hereditary genes.

According to Pancreatic Cancer UK, about 10,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with it every year and about 9,600 die annually.

At the moment there is no screening method for pancreatic cancer, and it is not yet clear why 40% of people living with it are also diagnosed with diabetes.

Victoria Hurwood, head of philanthropy and partnerships at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said there was a lack of treatment options for patients due to the cancer being "overlooked and underfunded for so many years".

"Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest cancer - half of people die within three months," she explained.

"So we really need better ways to treat the disease to give people the best possible chance of survival and more time with their loved ones."

A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it was aware there was "more to do to ensure that people are getting the care they deserve".

"That's why we are piloting a targeted approach that searches patient records to find people most at risk of pancreatic cancer, which could give more people a fighting chance and spare the heartbreak of countless families," they added.

NHS England was approached for comment.

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