Father killed by deadliest cancer within 10 weeks – daughter warns of telltale sign no one can afford to miss
A heartbroken daughter whose father died just 10 weeks after a diagnosis of lethal pancreatic cancer has urged the public to ‘keep pushing’ for help if ‘something feels wrong’.
Gary Buesnel, then 59, had been suffering stomach pain and loss of appetite for a year when the disease was eventually spotted.
But doctors initially said, on several occasions, that his problems were likely due to a far less serious issue, like hernia or gallstones.
‘These should have been red flags, but instead doctors kept saying he was fine,’ said his daughter, Leah, from Gorey in Jersey.
It was only when, one day in March 2020, his stomach pain became so intense he was forced to visit his local A&E, that doctors agreed to perform vital tests.
Scans eventually revealed a cancerous lesion on his liver — which further investigations showed was a secondary tumour to the original one in his pancreas.
‘On Pancake Day in 2020, it was confirmed, he had pancreatic cancer. And it had spread,’ Leah told The Sun.
‘It was stage four and doctors didn’t give us any treatment options. I know now that’s because there aren’t any.
Gary Buesnel was fobbed off by doctors for a year before his pancreatic cancer was eventually spotted
‘We were left crying in the room with no information or hope for the future.’
Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, when the cancer has spread and treatment options are limited.
This is because patients often have no symptoms, or they have signs that could be confused with another condition like irritable bowel syndrome or a hernia.
In around 80 per cent of cases it’s too late for effective treatment, according to the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK.
More than half die within three months of a diagnosis. Currently, the only chance of a cure is surgery to remove the tumour.
When surgery isn’t possible, chemotherapy and radiotherapy can be used to reduce symptoms, but won’t hold back the disease.
Desperate not to give up, the family visited a private doctor in the hope the specialist may be able to offer further options.
But that’s when ‘the worst news possible came,’ Leah said.
Mr Buesnel’s grandson, Axel, was born nine months before he died
Mr Buesnel was described by his daughter as a ‘real prankster dad’
‘The doctor said, this is really urgent. You’ve got eight to 12 weeks to live without treatment.
‘I searched all over the world to find someone to treat him, but there was nothing.
‘Obviously I now realise that by the time pancreatic cancer is diagnosed, it’s often too late.’
From this point, Mr Buesnel’s health got considerably worse; he began to develop jaundice — a sign of liver failure, when the skin and whites of the eyes begin to turn yellow.
The gardener had to undergo a further operation to open a blockage in his bile duct, followed by a session of chemotherapy.
‘I thought it had gone really well because he moved in with us and I walked into his room and I saw him sitting up, eating a Mars bar,’ said Leah.
‘I thought, oh yes, this is going to work, he’s going to be okay. But he wasn’t.
‘That was the only session he managed to have. He just wasn’t strong enough after that.’
Shortly afterwards he was transferred to a hospice, where he lived for the last few weeks of his life.
Eventually, he stopped eating and drinking.
‘I got a call saying he had three days left,’ Leah said.
‘By the time I got there, he couldn’t even really have a conversation. It just happened so quickly.
‘I didn’t realise it would be like that. I was under the impression he would be able to come home after he’d had medication for his pain.
‘I got to stay with him for the whole three days, and I was next to him when he passed away.’
Gary died on May 15 2020, a month before his 60th birthday.
Now, almost five years on, the mother-of-one is urging others to keep an eye out for the telltale signs of brutal pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer has been dubbed a ‘silent killer’ due to its subtle signs that are often only spotted too late
Symptoms include nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, indigestion and pain at the top of the tummy, as well as loss of appetite and unexplained weight loss.
‘The trouble is, these symptoms can be related to so many other things, and they don’t look that serious at first,’ said Leah.
‘But if we all know they could be attributed to pancreatic cancer, why aren’t we doing scans straight away? It’s one of the most deadly cancers.
‘The pancreas is just hidden away inside your body. I didn’t know anything about it until my dad’s cancer.
‘My message to everyone is just shout the loudest, because that’s the only way people are going to listen to you.
‘If you feel like something is wrong, keep pushing, or get a second opinion.’
