Alice Giddings
Published December 3, 2025 3:22pm
Updated December 3, 2025 3:22pm
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Debra was in for a nasty shock (Picture: Kennedy News and Pictures)
When mum-of-two Debra MacCuaig noticed her skin was itching, she didn’t think much of it.
Then, when she developed a bronzed complexion, she put it down to herfake tan habit.
Doctors diagnosed the 38-year-old with pancreatic cancer — the same disease which Debra’s beloved mum, Pam, died of in May 2023, aged 65.
Debra first noticed her strange symptoms in October 2018.
‘I would be properly scratching my arm,’ Debra says. ‘I thought maybe it could be a new washing detergent or moisturiser because I have quite sensitive skin. I wasn’t too concerned.’
Debra also says she’d had a busy social calendar, and had been fake tanning regularly for various events, so it made sense she was looking golden.
‘I had something on every weekend that month so was fake tanning a bit more,’ she adds.
Debra with her husband Niall and their two children (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
Unbeknownst to Debra, she was displaying all the symptoms of jaundice, including itching and dark-coloured urine.
‘At work we were having a laugh about it and they were calling me a Simpsons character,’ the teacher says. ‘I was blissfully unaware.’
But things took a more serious turn one Saturday night. ‘I just felt so run down and I said to my husband “do my eyes look a bit yellow?”,’ Debra explains. ‘He said “yeah they do”.’
Debra went to the GP, and eventually was given blood tests, ultrasounds, a CT scan and an MRI. In November 2018, results revealed she had a blockage to her bile duct, which was causing her jaundice.
She underwent an operation on December 2018, when her symptoms failed to improve. This was a Whipple’s procedure, a major surgery to remove the head of the pancreas, duodenum, gallbladder and a portion of the bile duct.
But it was during this operation that doctors discovered pancreatic cancer and removed a tumour that was at the head of her pancreas.
Debra initially thought she was just tanned, but that wasn’t the case (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
Thankfully, after six months of chemotherapy, Debra was told there was no further evidence of cancer.
While Debra was overjoyed to have recovered — and went onto have two children — mum Pam was tragically diagnosed with the same type of cancer just four years later.
‘Everything was textbook, it was so similar to me,’ Debra explains. ‘Mum finished her chemo in January 2024 and was getting better and better, then in the September she went for the results of her latest scan, and they told her the cancer had come back in her spine and lungs.
‘They told her they couldn’t cure it but they could treat it. We were devastated.. I was seven months pregnant at the time.’
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Pam’s condition rapidly declined in March before passing away two months later.
‘You kind of feel this survivors’ guilt and you’re annoyed that we knew all the symptoms but were still in this situation,’ Debra adds.
‘I was angry and couldn’t believe the same kind of cancer had struck our family.
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‘I tell other people to always trust your gut, if you don’t feel right then get it checked out.’
Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer develops when cells in the pancreas grow out of control, forming a lump. You might hear this called a tumour, lesion or mass.
There are different types of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common type. Neuroendocrine cancers are less common – they behave differently and are treated differently. You may hear these called pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours or NETs.
Pancreatic cancer is the 5th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, according to Cancer Research, and it’s hard to detect because it lacks symptoms in the early stages.
Symptoms include:
- Indigestion
- Tummy or back pain
- Changes to your poo
- Unexplained weight loss
- Jaundice
- Loss of appetite
- Recently diagnosed diabetes
- Problems digesting your food which causes bloating, lots of wind, burping and feeling full up quickly
- Nausea or vomiting
- Fatigue
- Blood clots
- Shivering, fever and feeling generally unwell
If you have jaundice, go to your GP or A&E straight away.
The treatment options you’re offered will depend on how advanced the cancer is and what type it is.
Source: Pancreatic Cancer UK
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