Overcoming ‘silent killer’ has left Brian fighting fit

2:42pm Wednesday 6th May 2009

By James Connell

WHEN Brian Seabourne was hit with the bombshell that he had pancreatic cancer he was handed a stark but simple choice by his surgeon – “I operate or you die”.

It was a brutal blow for a man whose problems began with an upset stomach only to end in a life and death fight on the operating table.

Following initial tests, no one had told him he might have cancer and the grim truth only dawned on him when he saw the words ‘cancer unit’ on a sign in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in December 2006, the same day he went to collect his test results.

Mr Seabourne, a 56-year-old highway safety engineer based at AmeyMouchel in Warndon, Worcester, said: “I was told, ‘You have got two options – have the operation or you will be dead within 12 months’.

“After that I didn’t know where I was or what I was doing. I had never been in hospital for more than an overnight stay. I was now being told I faced a major operation.

“The worst thing that had ever happened up until then was having my tonsils out when I was a kid.”

Problems began with Mr Seabourne being physically sick and suffering from jaundice, which prompted him to see his GP in Bidford-on-Avon.

His doctor examined him and became concerned, referring him to a specialist at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester for tests.

A stent was used to unblock his bile duct – the blockage was the reason he could not digest food and had become ill but it was the cause of this obstruction that was the real worry.

A growth was identified and Mr Seabourne was sent to Kidderminster Hospital for an MRI scan.

By the time he was due to get the results of the scan at the Queen Elizabeth, his skin had turned an unhealthy shade of yellow, which drew stares from people as he walked along the high street in Stratford-upon-Avon with his wife of 22 years, Helen.

During this time he found it difficult to keep food down and lost three-and-a-half-stone in 10 weeks, which caused intense fatigue.

Surgeons cut away half his liver, half his pancreas and a large section of his intestine during a five-and-a-half-hour operation at the Queen Elizabeth.

After the operation he was in intensive care for three days, in hospital for another two weeks and spent six months recovering before he was able to return to work on a part-time basis.

During this period he also had to undergo chemotherapy every week, which resulted in hair loss and general fatigue.

“When I was first told I had cancer I felt as though I had been invaded. You say ‘how the hell did that get there?’ It’s a mixture of anger and feeling sorry for yourself. You say ‘why me?’ but you come to terms with it.

“You have got to get your head around it and carry on. I remember the specialist told me, ‘I have done my best now get out there and live your life’.

“I definitely value life more. But there’s always that lurking doubt in my mind – will it come back?

Mr Seabourne, who is now in remission, is eager to talk about what happened to him to break down the taboo which he believes still surrounds cancer.

“”Everybody is scared of saying the word. People say, ‘How are you after your illness?’ They don’t say, ‘How is the cancer?’ The C word is still taboo.”

Mr Seabourne is eager to support more research into pancreatic cancer because it is more difficult to diagnose than other cancers.

“It’s a cancer that doesn’t show itself. It’s not like getting a lump on your leg as you may do with skin cancer. Normally it’s quite well into the illness before it shows itself,” he said.

Something very positive has now emerged from his experiences. The Gift of Life Cancer Charity Bike Ride is an event Mr Seabourne has arranged to raise funds for two charities close to his heart – Cancer Research UK and Pancreatic Cancer Research Centre in Birmingham.

The ride begins at the Warndon depot of AmeyMouchel on Pershore Lane, opposite Sixways Stadium, on Sunday, June 7, at 9.30am.

Cyclists who take part have the choice of three distances – a 10- mile, 40-mile and 60-mile route.

Mr Seabourne aims to complete the 40-mile ride himself and hopes he can double the total raised for the two charities in last year’s event (£6,500).

He has only recently returned from the Rio carnival in Brazil and hopes to go on a trip to the Norwegian fjords with his wife.

The bike ride is aptly named ‘Gift of Life’ because every day seems like a gift when you feared that you were about to die.

● You can help the Gift of Life Cancer Charity Bike Ride by taking part in the race and raising sponsorship money and bringing along a friend to secure more money for the charity or by being a marshal on the day.

If you would like to take part in the race it would help organisers if you could register as soon as possible.

For more information, contact Mr Seabourne on 07989 013270 or e-mail brian.seabourne@ameymouchel.

The pancreas is quite high up in your abdomen. It lies across your body where your ribs meet at the bottom of your breastbone, just behind your stomach. It is about six inches long and shaped like a leaf. The wide end of the pancreas is called the head.

The thin end of the ‘leaf’ is called the tail. The bit in the middle is called the body. The pancreas is a large gland. It makes digestive juices and insulin.

Pancreatic cancer is sometimes called a ‘silent killer’ because early pancreatic cancer often does not cause symptoms and the later symptoms are usually non-specific and varied. Therefore, pancreatic cancer is often not diagnosed until it is advanced.

Common symptoms include pain in the upper abdomen that typically radiates to the back and is relieved by leaning forward, loss of appetite and/or nausea and vomiting, significant weight loss and painless jaundice.

About 7,600 people are diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas in the UK each year. About three out of every 100 cancers diagnosed are pancreatic cancer (3 per cent). It is the 10th commonest cancer in the UK (not counting non-melanoma skin cancer).

Roughly two thirds of cases (63 per cent) diagnosed are in those who are more than 70 years old. The incidence in men and women is about the same.

Smoking, heavy drinking and poor diet may be factors in causing pancreatic cancer.