She has urged people to listen to their body after being treated for one of the six less survivable cancers
Jennifer Dummigan was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2024(Image: )
A Co Armagh mum has urged people to listen to their body after being treated for one of the six less survivable cancers.
Jennifer Dummigan, aged 54 and from Craigavon, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2024.
Mum-of-two Jennifer shared her story as alarming new findings today reveal a critical lack of research funding for common but less survivable cancers. And this stark imbalance is contributing to extremely poor outcomes for patients.
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She told Belfast Live: “I’d had some problems with stomach acid in my 30s but it didn’t seem to be anything serious, Back then the doctor just gave you lansoprazole and you said nothing more about it.
“But then in December 2023 I started having a tickly feeling in my chest and realised I was losing weight and struggling to eat. I saw my GP who gave me antibiotics thinking it was a chest infection.
“By the January I thought some foods were hurting me when I was eating and swallowing. I went back to the doctor who thought maybe it was helicobacter [a common stomach infection]. I was put on courses of antibiotics for it yet I still didn’t feel well.”
Things didn’t improve for Jennifer and it came to a head in Easter 2024 when she collapsed and had to go to A&E.
She explained: “I was actually planting a tree in my backyard and I collapsed in pain and I thought I better get myself off to A&E here. I went to Craigavon Area Hospital, which wasn’t busy. I always say that was part of my luck because I listened to myself and was diagnosed pretty quickly.
“I ended up having a camera test at the end of May and I was red flagged. It found a 5cm tumour in my oesophagus. It was a shock and I actually think I’m only starting to process it all now.
“At the time I’d never heard of oesophageal cancer in my life and never heard of anyone having it. I started treatment on July 15 and had chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery.
“The treatment I received at Belfast City Hospital was really excellent and I had the all clear a couple of months ago. The treatment isn’t pretty, it’s a really painful cancer. It has changed my perspective on life and you learn not to sweat the small stuff.”
Information obtained by the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce (LSCT) from a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, shows that research into the less survivable cancers – those of the brain, liver, lung, oesophagus, pancreas or stomach – receives less than one-fifth (18.92%) of all government-funded cancer research. That’s despite them accounting for nearly 40% of all common cancer deaths in the UK.
This disparity in funding reflects a situation where less survivable cancers receive approximately £130 less in research funding per cancer death compared to the average across all cancers – with some, like oesophageal, receiving as little as £40 per death (compared to an average of £310 across other cancers).
Over 95,000 people are diagnosed with one of the less survivable cancers in the UK every year and today’s news underscores the urgent need for increased investment into research aimed at improving outcomes for patients.
Figures released by the Taskforce last year found that more than half (62%) of people in Northern Ireland diagnosed with one of the six less survivable cancers will die from their disease within one year.
Jennifer added: “My advice to others would be if somebody has a prolonged issue I would be saying get back to your doctor and just say can we look at this, can we talk about this a wee bit more.
“I’m lucky that my first symptoms were first noticed in December and I was treated six months later because I listened to my own body and knew something wasn’t right.
“It’s been very hard but I’m an example of research saving lives. I hope we can start to prioritise these cancers and improve diagnosis and treatments for everyone facing them.”
The Taskforce is calling on the Government to recognise the scale of this challenge, reconsider current funding models, remove barriers (such as limited access to and lack of awareness of clinical trials) and incentivise research into less survivable cancers.
Anna Jewell, Chair of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, says the findings are a wake-up call: “It is unacceptable that less survivable cancers, which account for such a significant proportion of cancer deaths, receive only a fraction of the funding of overall cancer research.
“We urgently need substantial investment in research for these deadly cancers to discover better detection and treatment methods, ensuring that more lives can be saved.”
Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson is also a personal survivor of oesophageal cancer after being diagnosed in July 2019.
The East Antrim MLA said: “During Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Week, it is important to highlight research activity and to engage patients, charities and researchers. Less survivable cancers receive just 19% of research funding despite causing 40% of all cancer deaths.
“Today I call on the Minister of Health to work with Executive colleagues, the Department of Health and Academic Institutions to ensure that cancer research funding is better targeted towards less survivable cancers, to address long-standing inequalities in research investment, improve early diagnosis, support the development of new treatments and ultimately save lives.”
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