Father died of cancer in the pancreas, but on death certificate it says gastroenteritis?

Question

My father passed away early hours this morning, we all new he was suffering from cancer of the pancreas but today when we got his proof of death it states cancer and gastroenteritis?

I typed it online but it doesn't make sense, it explains it happens after having pancreas cancer but I'm confused. what did he die of?

Answer 1

Sorry about your dad.  I lost my dad two years ago.  It's rough.

But to answer your good question, it is difficult to label one cause of death when people die.  As a cancer specialist doctor for 20 years, I filled out hundreds of these certificates.  I was always tempted to just say "respiratory arrest" and "cardiac arrest" - since all of us die when we stop breathing and the heart stops.  I was at the bedside when many of my patients died.  In the vast majority of cases, people stop breathing first - then the heart stops.

For many of my patients I could have listed half a dozen things that led to death.  The underlying malignancy may be the main problem, but often it was a pneumonia or a blood clot or sepsis or a bleeding event that was the last straw.  There are many ancillary events that may occur in a cancer patient.

Gastroenteritis is a bit unusual to be listed as the primary final event - if this is how it was listed on the certificate.  The form asks for contributing causes along with the main diagnosis.  It may have been filled out late at night by a tired doctor who listed problems in reverse order.  

I can't tell you how many times I filled those forms out very late at night.  Paperwork often gets done when patients and their family members are asleep and the phone stops ringing for a few hours.  

Being a cancer doctor is a 24/7 job.  At the peak of my practice I was losing 20 people every month to advanced cancers.  The worst day was five good people lost in one 24 hour period.   I always felt that spending time with the patient and the family was more important than the after death paperwork - though I always had the paperwork done within 24 hours at the expense of sleep.  It is necessary, and record keeping is part of the job.

Answer 2

I am sorry you have lost your father.  But a death certificate always states the cause of death, not necessarily the primary engine of that cause.  Cancer (like AIDS) does not usually kill people who die with it, it is the impact the cancer has on the normal function of the various organs in their bodies.  

It is rather like the autopsy reports on the victims of plane crashes; it was the plane crash (of course!) that killed them, but an autopsy might indicate head trauma, or loss of blood, or fatal nerve damage, etc., as the "cause"...

Answer 3

As with a lot of cancers it is the problems that the cause that often cause death , I am very sorry to hear about your father , but you should not dwell on the small print for a few weeks , let yourself mourn his passing  

Answer 4

cancer isnt the killer, it's what it dose that kills, what it blocks off, and obstructs.

the cancer caused the gastroenteritis which is what he eventually died from.

(sorry for your loss)

Answer 5

I assume that his pancreas cancer caused gastroenteritis, which is what eventually caused him to die. So literally the gastroentiritis killed him, but the cancer caused that so he died of both. I hope that makes sense to you, and sorry for your loss

Answer 6

Cancer itself is not what kills you. It breaks down vital parts of your body and in your father's case it was his pancreas, but gastroenteritis is an infection that was caused by the cancer cells. I am sorry for your loss. My brother recently died of skin cancer, but that's not what killed him... the cancer spread to all parts of his body and eventually his liver quit and that killed him. Does this make any sense?