Overview
- Suzanne Ford, 67, noticed pale stools and a full‑body itch after a trip to France and had a CT scan six days after symptoms began that confirmed pancreatic cancer.
- She underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy on November 20, 2023, with pathology showing stage three disease without local spread, followed by months of chemotherapy and a strong recovery.
- Ford is supporting Professor George Hanna’s Imperial College project, which has £1.1 million from Pancreatic Cancer UK to validate a world‑first breath test for use in GP settings.
- Thousands of people with undiagnosed symptoms are now enrolled in a large UK trial to confirm whether the test can reliably detect disease earlier, with results expected in several years.
- Pancreatic cancer has the poorest survival among common cancers in the UK, with five‑year survival under about 7% and only one in ten patients eligible for surgery, prompting calls for sustained government research investment.