11<\/p>\n Gary Buesnel, who died 10 weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, with his daughter LeahCredit: Supplied 11<\/p>\n Leah is urging people to push for answers if they’re feeling unwell after her dad was fobbed off by doctorsCredit: Supplied<\/p>\n Days after Gary was finally referred to hospital for scans and tests, he was told the true cause of his stomach pain – and 10 weeks later he died.<\/p>\n It was pancreatic cancer<\/a> – one of the UK\u2019s deadliest forms of the disease, with a five-year survival rate of just 7.3 per cent.<\/p>\n But had Gary\u2019s illness been caught earlier, he might still be here – something his daughter Leah Buesnel-Sharpe still struggles to come to terms with almost five years later.\u00a0<\/p>\n She tells Sun Health: \u201cMy dad had pain in his stomach, he\u2019d lost a lot of weight and his appetite decreased.\u00a0<\/p>\n READ MORE PANCREATIC CANCER<\/p>\n \u201cThat really wasn\u2019t like him, so these should have been red flags, but instead doctors kept saying he was \u2018fine\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n There are around 10,800 cases of pancreatic cancer<\/a> every year in the UK. Some 9,600 people lose their lives. <\/p>\n Gary, from Gorey, Jersey<\/a>, was one of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe hadn\u2019t been well for about a year,\u201d Leah, 40, says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was back and forth to the doctor, and they said he had a hernia.<\/p>\n \u201cHis symptoms worsened and he went to A&E, but they just sent him home, telling him he was \u2018fine\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Gary, known to friends as Bugsy, went back to the doctor the following week and was sent straight to hospital. This time, he was kept in for tests.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI just knew somehow that it was going to be really serious. I felt it was going to be something really bad,\u201d Leah, mum to five-year-old Axel, says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stranger Things actor Mark Withers dies aged 77 after pancreatic cancer battle as tributes paid to \u2018strength & dignity\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cDoctors thought he had gallstones but scans revealed something on his liver, so he stayed in overnight.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat was scary enough. But days later, on Pancake Day in 2020, it was confirmed – he had pancreatic cancer. And it had spread.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was stage four and doctors didn\u2019t give us any treatment options. I know now that\u2019s because there aren\u2019t any.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were left crying in the room with no information or hope for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Desperate to keep her dad alive, Leah began researching their options.<\/p>\n \u201cWe visited a private doctor to see if they could do anything to relieve his pain, and that\u2019s when the worst news possible came,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe doctor said, \u2018This is really urgent. You\u2019ve got eight to 12 weeks to live without treatment.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI searched all over the world to find someone to treat him, but there was nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously I now realise that by the time pancreatic cancer is diagnosed, it\u2019s often too late.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n By the time I got to the hospice, he couldn\u2019t even really have a conversation. It just happened so quickly<\/p>\n Leah Buesnel-SharpeDaughter<\/p><\/blockquote>\n From this point, as Britain was plunged into lockdown<\/a>, Gary\u2019s health<\/a> deteriorated further.<\/p>\n \u201cHis bilirubin levels were really high and he turned yellow,\u201d Leah, who works in a needle exchange, says.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had to go to the UK to have a stent put in because his bile duct was blocked, but because it was the start of Covid, he had to isolate for two weeks when he got back.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe just got more and more unwell so I took him to the hospital and I think he had one session of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, \u2018Oh yes, this is going to work, he\u2019s going to be OK\u2019. But he wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the only session he managed to have. He just wasn\u2019t strong enough after that.\u201d<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n Gary with his grandson Axel shortly before he diedCredit: Supplied 11<\/p>\n He loved motorbikes and owned a Harley DavidsonCredit: Supplied 11<\/p>\n Leah described her dad as ‘a real prankster’Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n Despite the bleak outlook, Gary managed to keep smiling.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was actually surprisingly positive, which was not like my dad,\u201d Leah says.<\/p>\n \u201cHe would usually always tell you the negative side of things because in his eyes, \u2018You\u2019ve got to know everything.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Gary spent the last few weeks of his life in a hospice as Leah could no longer care for him at home.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wasn\u2019t eating or drinking,\u201d she says. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t even keeping down these little shots the hospital had given him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Because of Covid<\/a> restrictions, Leah wasn\u2019t allowed to visit her dad until the very end.\u00a0<\/p>\n FINAL DAYS<\/p>\n \u201cI got a call saying he had three days left,\u201d Leah says.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time I got there, he couldn\u2019t even really have a conversation. It just happened so quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t realise it would be like that. I was under the impression he would be able to come home after he\u2019d had medication for his pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI got to stay with him for the whole three days, and I was next to him when he passed away.\u201d<\/p>\n Gary died on May 15, a month before his 60th birthday – the day he was going to retire and \u201cstart living his life\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe worked for the forestry department, driving big machines and doing all the trees, until he got made redundant,\u201d Leah says.<\/p>\n \u201cThen he was gardening for a private firm, which was a very physical job.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he struggled because he was in so much pain. It just seems like a waste of life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Symptoms of pancreatic cancer<\/p>\n PANCREATIC cancer doesn’t always cause symptoms in its early stages.<\/p>\n As the cancer grows and you do begin to show signs, these may come and go and be unspecific, making it\u00a0hard to diagnose<\/a>, according to\u00a0Pancreatic Cancer UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n Common symptoms include:<\/p>\n Gary\u2019s funeral was a small affair with just 10 guests due to Covid.<\/p>\n But more than 400 people lined the streets as his coffin passed, followed by a procession of motorbikes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a Harley Davidson owner, so that was really nice,\u201d Leah says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was so popular. Honestly, I\u2019ve never heard anyone say a bad word about him. He was like this big gentle giant.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, his family visit his grave regularly, and raise money for charities<\/a> like Pancreatic Cancer UK every year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Their house is also still full of photos of Gary so he is never forgotten.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy little boy obviously doesn\u2019t remember him because he was only nine months old when his pop passed away,\u201d Leah says.<\/p>\n \u201cBut on his birthday, we always do something. I also talk about him all the time, and we\u2019ve got pictures everywhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad\u2019s friends come to family events, which is really nice, as I feel like I still have a little link to him.\u201d<\/p>\n If you feel like something is wrong, keep pushing. The pancreas is just hidden away inside your body. I didn\u2019t know anything about it until my dad\u2019s cancer<\/p>\n Leah Buesnel-SharpeDaughter <\/p><\/blockquote>\n She adds: \u201cHe was a real prankster dad. We\u2019d have water fights when I was younger and he and my mum would always play jokes on each other, like hiding each other\u2019s dinner and making the other one jump. He was just a bit of a joker.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he was so excited to be a grandad to my son. That was one of the hardest things. He had so many plans.\u201d<\/p>\n Leah and her family now live in her dad\u2019s house, which she describes as \u201cbittersweet\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really difficult at the beginning, but I wouldn\u2019t want to be anywhere else, and I definitely wouldn\u2019t want anyone else to live here,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got so many happy memories from when we were all together here.\u201d<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n Gary’s first symptoms were pain in his stomach, weight loss and a decreased appetiteCredit: Supplied 11<\/p>\n Despite the hallmark pancreatic cancer symptoms, doctors said he was fineCredit: Supplied 11<\/p>\n Gary with Leah when she was a childCredit: Supplied<\/p>\n Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer<\/a> death in the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n It can affect anyone of any age, and it occurs equally in men and women.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it has a five-year survival rate of just 7.3 per cent dropping to just five per cent after 10 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s because symptoms<\/a> can be vague, and often mask as something else entirely. <\/p>\n According to Pancreatic Cancer UK, the most common signs include:<\/p>\n If you are concerned, speak to your GP, and don\u2019t be afraid to push for answers.<\/p>\n Leah, who doesn\u2019t want any other families to have to go through the same, potentially avoidable pain, says: \u201cThe trouble is, these symptoms can be related to so many other things, and they don\u2019t look that serious at first.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut if we all know they could be attributed to pancreatic cancer, why aren\u2019t we not doing scans straight away? It\u2019s one of the most deadly cancers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe pancreas is just hidden away inside your body. I didn\u2019t know anything about it until my dad\u2019s cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cMy message to everyone is – just shout the loudest, because that’s the only way people are going to listen to you.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you feel like something is wrong, keep pushing, or get a second opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n Gary and Axel in hospital during his treatmentCredit: Supplied 11<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/771500bc-ae10-405b-a7d9-c10731ba7615.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2b4846d9-ded1-4fe7-a569-d1b98d620530.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dad-59-died-10-weeks-981009149.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dad-59-died-10-weeks-981009154.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/45fd7c05-55d7-4bb7-a168-ff59480a6d30.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1df267b2-9b68-469c-bb70-7275ac96cce1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dad-59-died-10-weeks-981009267.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dad-59-died-10-weeks-981009151.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dad-59-died-10-weeks-981009247.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dad-59-died-10-weeks-981009153.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/60434196-243f-4b4d-b459-fda41a83dd08.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n