Pancreatic cancer: Newport woman’s Alps trek after holiday agony

When she was first diagnosed, Dawn left her job as a nurse but, in 2019, she returned to university to complete her return to practice registration, external.

“I loved my job and I wanted to return to make sure that patients were having the best experience,” she said.

However, on the last week of the course, she collapsed with a familiar pain, just a few months after her five-year mark of being cancer free.

After a call to her surgeon and further tests in Newcastle, scans showed pre-cancerous cysts in her pancreas.

In January 2021, she had her pancreas and spleen removed in two operations.

Now, four years later, Dawn has adjusted to life without these organs, as well as a diabetes diagnosis.