New adventures were beckoning for Janet Pawelec, who was looking forward to retiring from her stressful and demanding job managing an Ambulance Control Room in York to spend more quality time with her husband, a former paramedic.
But before she had the chance to put plans into place, discomfort from her gall bladder which had troubled her on and off for 20 years, flared up again. Originally tests on her gall bladder revealed a cyst on her pancreas. Clinicians at York District Hospital invited Janet for regular scans but decided the cyst was benign.
Last August Janet attended A&E with severe gall stone pain and was referred for an ultrasound scan which not only revealed she had gallstones, but that the pancreatic cyst was now 2.5 cm large.
Further tests followed and Janet’s consultant Mr Miller, wanted to refer Janet to St James Hospital, Leeds, for a PET scan, an imaging test which allows your doctor to check for disease in your body. Pancreatic patients are routinely referred to St James for surgery from York hospital.
“My mind was all over the place, I was so confused. I couldn’t take it all in, “Janet recalls, and when she was offered an information pack, she initially didn’t want to know.
Following a tense weekend of worrying, Janet went along for a PET scan and to meet with her consultant, Mr Smith. She immediately felt confident that she was in the best hands.
“He said I will show you what the issues are, and then tell you what I am going to do about it,” she said.
The cyst was cancerous, and he planned to operate within two weeks. It would be major surgery, and she would be hospitalised for between 7-10 days.
“He put his arms around me and said, ‘You’re mine now, and I’m going to look after you’. I just felt so much better, knowing what the plan was, and that he absolutely knew what he was doing.”
Janet’s operation went ahead on 27 January, removing the pancreatic cyst and also a tumour they discovered on her stomach.
A follow up appointment was held in early March, before Coronavirus began to have an impact. A scan planned for late April was cancelled as the lockdown began to take effect.
“I was concerned about the cancellation. I contacted my GP and they offered to contact Mr Smith to query if I should be seen.”
Mr Smith responded the risk was extremely low and they would ask her to come in, as soon as it was safe to do so.
Looking back on her treatment, Janet admits she was frightened about being referred to St James Hospital.
“I know it’s only 16 miles down the road but I wanted to go to our local hospital. Now I would go back in a drop of a hat.
“In the scheme of things, I’m still here, and have a better prognosis than I thought possible. I’ve been very, very lucky, and had excellent treatment at St James from the cleaner who made my bed, to the assistants who brought my meals to the brilliant nurses,” she added.
An important part of recovery can be joining a patient support group and Karen from Panpals Yorkshire has already been in touch. While face to face meetings are postponed for the immediate future, Janet knows there is a supportive group of patients who are still there for her at the end of a phone.
To find out more about Panpals Yorkshire email panpalsyorks@yahoo.co.uk