GP told father-of-three his back pain was sciatica - it was in fact pancreatic cancer...four months later he was dead
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A heartbroken widow has told of the agonising wait for her husband's diagnosis of deadly pancreatic cancer — which came too late to save his life. By the time doctors spotted the disease in June this year it was inoperable, had spread to his liver and triggered life-threatening blood clots on his lung.
![[Michelle Bradley, Stuart's wife, described her late husband as a 'one-of-a-kind' and 'larger-than-life' person, who adored his three children Kayla, 13, Paige, 9, and Blake, 4.]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/10/93420169-14220867-image-a-3_1734951135662.jpg)
But Stuart Bradley, 42, from Co Down, Northern Ireland, had been suffering symptoms since the end of 2023, including severe back pain, bowel problems and anxiety. Ms Bradley, 38, said his local GP struggled to fit him in for an appointment, instead suggesting telephone consultations.
![[Michelle told the Belfast Telegraph: 'Not seeing the GP made the situation incredibly difficult. Stuart was never questioned about further symptoms or family history.']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/10/93420171-14220867-image-a-4_1734951202224.jpg)
During one of these remote appointments in May, a doctor mistook his symptoms for sciatica — a pain condition that's triggered by the compression of the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back to the feet. It wasn't until June 19, nine months after the pain began, that Stuart, a father-of-three, was finally able to get an in-person GP appointment.
It was then that he was diagnosed with blood clots in his legs, and referred to the hospital for further tests. A week later, scans revealed several cancerous masses in his body — including one in his liver, and another in his pancreas, which was deemed inoperable.
Stuart Bradely was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after suffering back pain, as well as unstable bowel habits. It took doctors the best part of a year before they spotted something seriously wrong. By this point, Stuart, a roofer, was so ill his skin was yellow and he was 'sweating profusely,' according to Michelle.
