Gary Murphy - diagnosed with pancreatic cancer February 2026.
What does Daraxonrasib mean for pancreatic cancer patients like me?
"In a word hope.
Hope that the drug may become more widely available and give those of us who are terminal just a few more months or perhaps a year or two.
Research in pancreatic cancer has sadly yielded very little in recent decades, with the result that patients like myself can really only hope that we respond well to chemotherapy and buy ourselves a bit more time.
As we all know, time is a finite resource, we cannot create it and once used it is gone forever.
What we can do, is make the most of what time we have.
For me it is about making memories and spending time with family and friends. Living in the moment and taking nothing for granted. The stunning beauty of a sunrise, the awesome, frightening power of an electrical storm, watching pelicans gliding millimetres above the water, the incessant rhythm of the waves.
Watching grandchildren play and their unfiltered delight in singing or dancing, completing a puzzle and discovering words and sentences.
At the moment, I am resigned to the fact that I won’t get to see my granddaughters develop into the beautiful young women that I know they will become. I won’t get to see them at school plays, recitals and share their triumphs, joys and heartbreaks.
I won’t get to grow old with my wife, and I fear for her life alone after me. I know she is tough and resilient, but I feel like I have let her down by not being there for her.
My daughters have been very strong and supportive, but I know they feel robbed of time with their Dad.
If I and others like me, can get a few more precious months to get to celebrate those family milestones like birthdays, anniversaries and other special events which we sometimes take for granted, it will all be worthwhile.
I dare to hope. "
