A British man was given the heartbreaking news that he may have only nine months to live after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2024.
Lawrence Fox began suspecting something was wrong in July that year when he noticed a change in his bowel movements, a symptom that can be associated with the disease.
At 67, he became alarmed when it seemed like food was passing through him unusually quickly after meals.
“One minute I’d want to go to the toilet, the next minute I’d have nothing, depending when I’d eaten,” he said.
“I had the runs, my stools were very soft, and as soon as I was eating, within the next couple of hours I was going to the toilet.”
Lawrence had previously dealt with diverticulitis, an illness that can cause the bowel to become inflamed or infected and may bring symptoms including stomach pain, fever, nausea, and altered bowel habits.
When he visited his GP, the former construction manager was prescribed antibiotics to treat what was thought to be an infection.
But his condition didn’t get better, and although he underwent an endoscopy in August 2024, the test didn’t reveal any problems.
During the same period, Lawrence was coping with his mother’s severe illness. As she was dying from sepsis, he assumed the weight he lost — around a stone — was tied to stress rather than anything more serious.
“I was more worried about my mum than I was,” he recalled. “I was just glad I was getting it checked out.”
In December 2024, not long after his mother died, a CT scan discovered a 75mm mass. Lawrence was then told he had pancreatic cancer and was given a prognosis of nine months.
Surgery was not an option because the tumor sat too close to a major artery, so doctors started him on chemotherapy instead.
Lawrence continued: “That wakes you up. My thought was – they obviously think I can take this chemo, and they wouldn’t be doing it if they didn’t think there was a chance of it doing something.
“So, I thought, if they’re going to give it to me, I’ve got to give it my all.”
While the initial outlook was grim, his situation has since improved significantly. After 12 rounds of chemotherapy, the tumor has reduced to 15mm, and his cancer is no longer classed as stage four.
Now, Lawrence is encouraging others not to ignore persistent digestive problems or unexplained changes, and to get medical advice sooner rather than later.
“If you don’t feel right and it’s to do with digestion, if you keep getting indigestion or your bowel movements change for no apparent reason, get it checked out,” Lawrence said.
“It might be something, and it might be nothing.
“It doesn’t cost you anything – just make the phone call to get it checked out.”