{"id":39507,"date":"2026-06-27T05:44:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T05:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/39507\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T05:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T05:44:10","slug":"john-didnt-realise-he-had-pancreatic-cancer-until-he-taught-a-workshop-on-the-disease-this-is-his-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/39507\/","title":{"rendered":"John didn’t realise he had pancreatic cancer until he taught a workshop on the disease. This is his message"},"content":{"rendered":"

In October last year, as clinical worker John McNeur delivered a health workshop in the remote Northern Territory, alarm bells began to ring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 68-year-old Darwin local was working with the community clinic in Timber Creek, teaching Aboriginal health coaches about chronic conditions.<\/p>\n

As he ran through the symptoms for pancreatic cancer \u2014 back and abdominal pain, nausea, digestive issues, weight loss, blood clots \u2014 John says he began mentally ticking every box.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

John McNeur says he previously explained away a lot of the symptoms he was experiencing. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)<\/p>\n

“I had what I thought was an evidence-based belief around a reason for all of my symptoms,” he says.<\/p>\n

Kidney stones explained away his nausea and stomach pain; a spinal fracture accounted for the back pain.<\/p>\n

“I just kept on giving myself excuses that I didn’t have it because I had far too much to do in the rest of my life,” John says.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, back in Darwin, he developed jaundice \u2014 a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes that is a key symptom of pancreatic cancer \u2014 and went to the hospital.<\/p>\n

Within a few days, doctors gave John the news he had stage four inoperable terminal pancreatic cancer and was unlikely to make it until Christmas \u2014 less than three months away.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

John McNeur has spent a lot of time in hospital since his diagnosis. (Supplied: John McNeur)<\/p>\n

At one point, following a round of chemotherapy, he was told he only had 72 hours to live.<\/p>\n

“I was still in the denial stage at that point, so it was really confronting,” he says.<\/p>\n

“But it served me reasonably well because it shocked me into action.”<\/p>\n

Since then, John \u2014 described by friends as a “delusional optimist” \u2014 has set about making the time he has left focused on helping others with the disease.<\/p>\n

“The phrase I formed was living with and beyond pancreatic cancer \u2014 and the beyond is leaving a bit of a legacy of information that might make someone else’s journey just a little bit easier,” he says.<\/p>\n

Australia’s third biggest cancer killer<\/p>\n

According to Pankind \u2014 a foundation that does research and provides advocacy, awareness and support around pancreatic cancer \u2014 about 4,825 Australians were diagnosed with the disease in 2025, making it the eighth most common cancer in the country.<\/p>\n

Though the diagnosis rates fall far behind breast and prostate cancer, the survival rate is much lower, with the chance of living for at least five years after diagnosis sitting at just 13 per cent.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

John McNeur is “living with and beyond” pancreatic cancer. (Supplied: John McNeur)<\/p>\n

Only three out of 10 people will survive one year after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, making the disease the third biggest cancer killer in Australia in 2024.<\/p>\n

Pankind chief executive Michelle Stewart says it wasn’t that long ago that a pancreatic cancer diagnosis was considered unusual.<\/p>\n

“It used to be thought of as a rare or less common cancer, but in the last couple of years it’s moved to being a common cancer,” she says.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason, Ms Stewart says, is due to smoking, obesity and an ageing population, all factors that increase the risk of contracting the disease.<\/p>\n

“There is also a slight family history risk,” she explains.<\/p>\n

“If you’ve had several family members diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, we recommend surveillance so we have a chance of catching it early.”<\/p>\n

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data shows the NT has the highest rate of pancreatic cancer diagnosis in the country, with 18.6 cases per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 16.5 per 100,000.<\/p>\n

Pancreatic cancer study set to launch in Brisbane<\/a><\/p>\n

The study is the first step into investigating whether pancreatic cancer screening \u2014 via a non-invasive CT scan \u2014 could help save lives by early detection or warning signs.<\/p>\n

The Territory also has the highest mortality rate from the disease, with 17.4 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 13.8 per 100,000.<\/p>\n

Mr McNeur said after his diagnosis, he was shocked at the lack of support and resources for people living with pancreatic cancer in the Northern Territory \u2014 and it wasn’t long before he was coming up with a plan to create that awareness himself.<\/p>\n

He recently walked 4.5 kilometres as part of Pankind’s Put Your Foot Down fundraiser in Brisbane, with John and his family raising $13,450 for research and support programs for Australians impacted by pancreatic cancer.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

John McNeur and his son Ben McNeur and daughter Amy McDonald walk in Brisbane to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)<\/p>\n

He also has another idea of how he can support those with the same diagnosis.<\/p>\n

“I’d like to call it ‘the beginner’s guide to dying of pancreatic cancer in the Northern Territory’, because it is a bit different in the Territory,” he says.<\/p>\n

John McNeur’s beginner’s guide to dying from pancreatic cancer in the Northern Territory<\/p>\n

Get tested. “Don’t fear asking your body a question you might not want the answer to.”<\/p>\n

Don’t be afraid of the process. “I was afraid to publicly admit to myself that I was dying, it took quite a while for me to put an advanced personal plan in place for me to talk about it with my kids.”<\/p>\n

Get an advanced personal plan. “It’s how you get a chance to say, when I’m at the point where I can no longer make my own decisions \u2014 who looks after my money, my will, do I want to be resuscitated.”<\/p>\n

Have a bucket list. “Even if it’s simple or weird. Mine is to catch a barra \u2014 I’ve still never landed one.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

John McNeur says it’s important to ask for help if you need it. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)<\/p>\n

Look after your mental health. “Pancreatic cancer is like a shit Jetstar flight \u2014 you know you’re going to get to the destination eventually, but you’re not quite sure what baggage will be there at the end.”<\/p>\n

Don’t feel that you’re putting anyone to too much trouble. “Be prepared to ask people to do stuff \u2014 I’m fiercely independent, and it took me so long to take up what people had offered.”<\/p>\n

Be a little bit demanding. “You will have a better journey if you ask for what you need.”<\/p>\n

Don’t ask for a timeline. “It’s pretty rare that any medical practitioner of any sort will tell you how long you’ve got to live \u2014 they don’t know. No one can shorten or lengthen up your life.”<\/p>\n

Don’t be afraid to speak on behalf of your body. “It’s still your body. You still own it.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In October last year, as clinical worker John McNeur delivered a health workshop in the remote Northern Territory,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[32105,32107,22,21,32103,32108,32104,1938,32101,32102,1637,32106],"class_list":["post-39507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-abdominal-pain","tag-advanced-personal-plan","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-jaundice","tag-john-mcneur","tag-nausea","tag-northern-territory","tag-pancreatic-cancer","tag-pankind","tag-public-health","tag-put-your-foot-down"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}