The story of Sophie
IÂ was diagnosed with a glucagonoma after an intense period of investigations at a non-specialist rural county hospital in the UK in September 2014. I had been suffering from non-specific gastrointestinal problems and skin outbreaks, initially on my face, for a couple of years prior to diagnosis. This turned out to be the ‘classic’ NME – necrolytic migratory erythema, or necrolytic erythema migrans. For me, at 45, as someone who had been fit and healthy apart from feelings of ‘hormonal’ tiredness for a while, to be diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer
came as an awful shock. However, I am now, despite having been given what was essentially an all-clear in 2018, living with metastatic disease relatively comfortably. I have some pain, which is dealt with and although I do dwell on this, generally I do not believe the sun revolves around me. I had to have my spleen removed which has meant I can be a little bit prone to infections, but I keep myself safe and any anaemia can also be dealt with. In common with around 25% of patients I have experienced thromboembolic complications, and hospitalisation, but do not have liver metastases as far as investigations have determined. A round of 4 sessions of Lutathera appears to have contributed to keeping things relatively in check and Somatuline autogel injections are ongoing. I wouldn’t say Nature is my cure, but I have been involved in conservation for a long time now and I care about the future of the planet for that reason. I am receiving ongoing monitoring from an ENETs centre at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and via my GP surgery.