{"id":4898,"date":"2025-09-05T14:46:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T14:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=4898"},"modified":"2025-09-10T21:34:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T21:34:17","slug":"the-doctor-told-me-i-had-a-uti-but-i-was-dying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/05\/the-doctor-told-me-i-had-a-uti-but-i-was-dying\/","title":{"rendered":"The doctor told me I had a UTI \u2014 but I was dying"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Laura believes she has months left, rather than years (Picture: Laura Nixon \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Laura Nixon went to an out of hours doctor in Janurary with a painful stomach the doctor told her she likely had a UTI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 59-year-old was given antibiotics to treat her suspected urinary tract infection<\/a>, and was then sent on her way.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t the first time she’d saught help for a painful tummy<\/a>. She’d been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis<\/a> (inflammatory bowel disease) back in April 2024, but her pain had been steadily growing worse.<\/p>\n

But what her doctors failed to realise was that Laura was struggling with a condition far more sinister. <\/p>\n

She’d later discover she had stage four pancreatic cancer<\/a> – and just five years to live.<\/p>\n

‘I don’t think I’ve ever processed it,’ Laura, a Windsor resident, explains. ‘I go to bed at night and think if I wake up in the morning, it’s a bonus.<\/p>\n

‘I can’t allow myself to be sad. There’s no point in being angry with people as you can’t go back, but I worry about people going through the same thing.’<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Laura\t<\/div>
Laura in hospital after being diagnosed (Picture: Laura Nixon \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the antibiotics for her supposed urinary tract infection hadn’t worked, the doctor re-prescribed them. Laura had wrongly assumed he was also checking for cancer markers, because she’d had her gallbladder<\/a> out for that very reason.<\/p>\n

The pain persisted and eventually she took herself to A&E two months later, but was told she’d have to wait a while for a CT scan.<\/p>\n

Instead, since she was about to take her mum on a cruise, she decided to have some health<\/a> checks done with her GP. After an exam, her doctor called her straight away and told her to get an urgent colon scan.<\/p>\n

Then, on July 11, at 3.30pm, Laura was told the earth-shattering news that she had stage four pancreatic cancer<\/a> and only five years left to live.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Laura\t<\/div>
Laura is sad to leave her loved ones behind but she has to do the treatment alone (Picture: Laura Nixon \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Laura didn’t want to wait and rely on the NHS, so she’s now in Germany<\/a> preparing to undergo alternative private transarterial chemoembolization treatment. This delivers chemo directly to the tumour, rather than throughout the body.<\/p>\n

‘My oncologist said they don’t offer this treatment on the NHS<\/a> because they don’t know if it works,’ she explains.<\/p>\n

Standard NHS treatment is chemotherapy and surgery, and while transarterial chemoembolization treatment is available privately in the UK, it costs far more than it does elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The 59-year-old is fundraising to recoup some of the \u00a365,000 cost of the treatment in Frankfurt, which will take two-and-a-half weeks, although much is being funded by her mother who is using her life savings.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Laura\t<\/div>
There’s no cure for Laura’s cancer (Picture: Laura Nixon \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

‘This private treatment will aim to starve the tumour which should relieve some of the pain,’ Laura explains.<\/p>\n

‘They’re going to take some blood to produce hormones from it and then they block oxygen to my pancreas and suffocate it to stop it getting any bigger.’<\/p>\n

Following this, Laura will move to Munich for a fortnight for additional intervention. <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tPancreatic Cancer\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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Pancreatic cancer is a cancer that’s found anywhere in the pancreas – the organ in the top part of your tummy.<\/p>\n

It helps you digest your food and makes hormones, such as insulin.<\/p>\n

Symptoms include:<\/strong><\/p>\n