Widow's devastation after husband dies of pancreatic cancer

Chris Weston was given the heartbreaking news he had pancreatic cancer on January 4 this year, aged just 64.

He sadly died less than two weeks later, on January 16 - tragically before the birth of his new grandson and two days after he was admitted to a hospice.

Carol and Chris Weston (Image: Pancreatic Cancer Action)

Carol Weston, who lived with her husband in the Wrose area of Bradford, said: “It was so hard for all of us that it happened so quickly.

“We try to take some comfort in the fact that at least we got to have one last Christmas with him.

“But he wasn’t here to meet his new grandson when he was born.

“He was only 64 when he died and had retired at 63 so he never got a chance to fully enjoy retirement.

“We went on a big holiday to Canada when we were 60 and I am so glad we got the chance to do that.”

Chris Weston (Image: Pancreatic Cancer Action)

Chris had been keeping himself busy since retiring by going on long walks with their Cocker Spaniel and making things in the garage. 

He had been prescribed medication for high blood pressure for several years and had yearly checks, including blood tests.

During his last check in October 2023, Chris was diagnosed as prediabetic and told to make some lifestyle changes but then he was back at the GP in December 2023 as indigestion he had been experiencing for a few years worsened.

Chris had lost some weight, but they put it down to him changing diet and being active.

The GP also suspected Chris had deep vein thrombosis, as he complained about a pain in his calf, and he was put on blood thinners. 

Chris Weston (Image: Pancreatic Cancer Action)

Carol said: “Christmas was an exciting time for our family as our son and his partner were due a baby in the new year.

“Chris ate his Christmas dinner, and he spent the day building toys up for our grandson.

“We saw in the new year together but, a couple of nights later, he woke up with stomach pains, so I called an ambulance.”

It was mentioned at hospital there was the “possibility of cancer”, Carol said.

Chris was fast-tracked for a scan two weeks after and they immediately found something on his liver.

It was assessed this was a secondary cancer site and further tests discovered the primary cause was pancreatic cancer.

Unfortunately, the cancer was too far advanced for anything except palliative care and after 10 days in hospital Chris was taken to a hospice before passing away two days later.

Carol feels Chris should have had more tests when he was first told about being prediabetic and said doctors are learning from how “quickly it all happened”.

Carol and Chris Weston (Image: Pancreatic Cancer Action)

She added: “Losing Chris has changed our whole family setup, and support after grief isn’t always what it has cracked up to be.

“My daughter has been supporting me and I have been journaling, which has helped me through.

“Certain days are hard, like Father’s Day. It was my son’s first Father’s Day as a father but also his first Father’s Day without his own dad there.

“It has also been difficult to navigate with our three-year-old grandson as Chris, who he called ‘Gaga’, was his best friend.

“When I would go over to see him after Chris died, he would run to see if his Gaga was coming in behind me, which was heartbreaking.”

Chris Weston (Image: Pancreatic Cancer Action)

Carol is working with charity Pancreatic Cancer Action to raise awareness of the disease’s devastating nature.

It is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the UK, with around 10,500 people diagnosed each year.

Early diagnosis is crucial for improving survival rates - sadly, 26 people a day die from the disease, and a further 29 are diagnosed.

Pancreatic Cancer Action is dedicated to raising awareness of the disease and funding research into early diagnosis and treatment.

To find out more about the charity’s work, visit their website at: panact.org.