Santa paid an early visit to plasterer Jay Clark, his girlfriend Caroline Donoghue, and their ten-month-old Maxie this year – because the terminally ill dad was worried he would not live to see his son’s first Christmas.
41-year-old Jay, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October last year, and his partner Caroline, 37, had lost all hope of having children after spending £21,000 on failed IVF treatment. But their ‘miracle baby’ Maxie was born on the 9th January, just weeks after Jay was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Jay has documented his story on his Facebook page Be More Jay, which is written from baby Maxie’s perspective.
After volunteers helped the family to celebrate Christmas early, Jay wrote that they had a very special day:
Jay, whose mum sadly passed away from cancer in April, took to Facebook early this morning to say that he has decided to stop his pallaitive chemotherapy:
“Morning all you wonderful people on this windy and blustery day, it’s the dad dad man (Jay) here, Maxie is busy with his bot bot so he said I can put a post on his blog!!
I just wanted to talk a little bit about the boring cancer thing!!!
Last week, we took the decision to halt my pallaitive chemo sessions. Not a decision that was taken lightly but a decision that was ultimately right for us. It simply comes down to a choice between quality and quantity…..and my friends, quality wins hands down…shimples!!!
We have been blessed with so many oppurtunities recently, and these are memories that Maxie will be able to cherish for the rest of his life. Unfortunately with chemo running through your veins, this hampers your capabilities and we’re determined to enjoy every second of every day.
Having said this I HAVE NOT given up, this is simply not my philosophy and never will be. I spent two hours yesterday at a clinic in Brighton talking to a wonderful doctor about the many alternatives, which I intend to utilise. So, there is always hope…miracles DO happen and with the power of a positive mind absolutely anything is possible!!
Anyway, have a great day all you beautiful people I know I will!!!
Lots of love, Jay xxxxxxxxx”
The brave dad has said that one of his main aims has been to highlight pancreatic cancer. A rare cancer in Ireland, about 370 people are diagnosed with it each year and most cases occur in adults over the age of 60. At present, there is no national screening programme for pancreatic cancer as it is not a common cancer and there is no single test to diagnose it.
Symptoms can include:
- Pain or discomfort around your stomach area, which may spread to your back
- Weight loss
- Jaundice
- Loss of appetite
- Feeling full very quickly
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diabetes, especially if diagnosed within previous 2 years
- Low mood
If you are worried about your risk of pancreatic cancer, talk to your GP.
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