AFTER surviving pancreatic cancer, Ali Stunt decided to do some research into the disease and found that more than 70 per cent of people have never heard of the pancreas – and still more had no idea where in the body it is located.

This may not be surprising as the organ is only six inches long and ius tucked away behind the stomach doing the vital job of breaking down food and helping the body to store energy.

It quietly gets on with its work and if something changes, such as the formation of a cancerous tumour, in the body it is very hard to detect.

Twenty-four people are diagnosed with the disease each day and currently only four per cent of those diagnosed survive beyond five years.

Ali knew none of these grim facts when, eight years ago, as a 41-year-old-busy mother of two young boys, she began to experience a pain in the middle of her back “like a tennis ball being pushed between my shoulder blades.”

For full story, see this week’s Bordon Herald.