Symptoms of pancreatic cancer: Mum diagnosed at 29 and given five months to live
Abby Gnanachelvan thought 2023 was going to be her best year yet, but then a nagging pain in her back got worse and everything changed.
The 29-year-old mother was diagnosed in January with stage 4 pancreatic cancer — a disease most commonly seen in unhealthy men in their 60s — and had five months to live.
She went from running 3 miles a day and daydreaming about reaching fun milestones with her husband, Pravin, and year-old daughter Ariya, to simply “trying to stay alive.”
Speaking to FEMAIL, the young dentist tearfully reflected on the “big moments” she always expected to spend with her daughter.
“I always dreamed of being close, like with my mother,” she said.
From her first day of school and her 21st birthday.
“My favorite thing in the world is holding her, but right now I can’t even do that,” she said.
Abby Gnanachelvan, pictured right, with husband Pravin and daughter Ariya thought 2023 would be her most amazing year ever
The 29-year-old was over the moon before she developed back pain. Doctors kept telling her she had postpartum depression, but she pushed back: ‘I was the happiest I’d ever been’
Abby’s cancer journey began like so many others – by being “fobbed off” by her doctor.
She explained that she had been working out at the gym in November, a few days before she began to experience nagging pains in her lower back.
So she went to physio herself, but it didn’t get any better.
“I went to the doctor for the first time in December, they told me I had postpartum depression and to lean on my support network,” she said.
This did not sit well with the first-time mother.
“I was the happiest I had ever been. I was back at work two afternoons a week and thoroughly enjoyed being a mother. I thought – I’m over the moon – I’m just in pain,” she explained.
Doctors agreed to take her blood, ordered follow-up tests hours later, and the next day the young dentist’s dreams were shattered when she was told she had cancer and had months to live.
Determined to see her daughter grow up, young mother pushed through ‘hellish’ chemo – only to be devastated when it didn’t work
“I was also excited for 2023 because so many of my friends were getting married, getting engaged and planning to start families. I wanted to help them celebrate their victories.”
She went back to the doctor and was sent home again, with the same answer.
But her mother told her to go back and press for answers, by which time the pain had gotten so bad it kept her awake at night.
“With my background, I should have realized that something was seriously wrong. Waking up at night in pain is never a good sign,” she said.
She demanded a blood test. And three hours later, her doctor called to tell her to come back immediately.
“I remember thinking it must be bad and telling my husband it would be fine as long as it’s not cancer,” she said.
The news from the doctor upset her – her cancer markers were high and she had to do an MRI and some other tests.
Her sister, pictured, spends her evenings searching for treatments that might work – targeting well-known specialists in the US and Germany
Abby is undergoing her last round of chemotherapy in Australia, but will soon be going abroad with her mother, father, husband and daughter to pursue more experimental treatments
The results were expected the next day, her mother, father and husband went along to the appointment for moral support.
In her heart, Abby knew the doctor would tell her she had cancer.
But what came next was a shock.
“He said it had spread to the spine and lungs and I had five months to live, he couldn’t operate on it,” she said.
“I was like, what five months to live? I just ran 5 km, I feel good. I just have a sore back,” she cried.
Dozens of tests and surgeries followed to find out what type of cancer they were dealing with – and things went from bad to worse.
The young mother said she first only told her closest friends about her cancer diagnosis – then her five-month term expired and she decided to post publicly about her battle
‘We had bought a house, married, started a family. We celebrated the victories of our loved ones. We didn’t see this coming, but you never do’
Pancreatic cancer is very rare in young, healthy patients. It is difficult to treat and the survival rate is ‘very poor’.
Abby’s husband Pravin, an accountant, has turned down the bad odds.
“He tells me those stats aren’t about me, I’m young and healthy,” she said.
She wants him to be right.
“I have to live because my baby needs me,” she added.
So part of me is holding on to that. After all, they said five months and if that were true I’d be dead.
The first chemo left Abby losing her hair “in days” and smashing through her wall of optimism.
“It seems silly, because it’s just her. But I was so afraid that my daughter wouldn’t recognize me. And it came out so fast.’
She was dealt another blow when the treatment didn’t work.
“The doctors were shocked and it was hard to hear. I can do everything, go through every treatment. But to feel so sick and lose my hair and not make it work. That was difficult,” she said.
Abby said her baby started sucking her thumb the day she got her diagnosis — and “felt the energy shift” in the once-optimistic family dynamic
The three months of chemotherapy would have been brutal on its own, but the cancer had jumped through the dentist’s spine, so she needed surgery on that too.
“Eight screws were placed in the lower part of her spine.
As a result, she cannot do any kind of vigorous exercise or even hold her daughter because if she moves suddenly or in the wrong direction, she could loosen the screws.
Abby is currently trying another chemo option, which is the last option for her in Australia. And as a result, treatment in the US has failed.
“We found a doctor who is especially interested in young people with pancreatic cancer,” she said.
“I want to fight this horrible disease, I’m not even nearly done yet. I feel like every life experience has prepared me for this. I have to get through this,” she said.
The experimental treatment is her chance to achieve more milestones with her family.
“I know I can beat this. I just need to find something that works for me,” she said.
The young mother started a Go Fund Me to ’empower herself to stay strong’ and ask for ‘small change’, but was overwhelmed by the support.
At the time of writing, she had raised $160,000 to pay for treatment and help her parents, husband, and daughter be with her in the United States.
“I had been very private about it. This was the first time I spoke to someone outside my immediate circle and the support was great.”
Abby hopes her story will help others in a similar position. She also hopes that more research will be done on pancreatic cancer and other cancers that are usually diagnosed ‘late’.
“To be told you have cancer, but you discovered it too late, is heartbreaking. I’m 29, usually very optimistic, but it’s unfair.’