Faith Harris, Shrewsbury
My mum, Hayley, was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in December 2020 aged 51.
My mum was the Head of Art at a local secondary school. She adored helping others and was so gifted. After years of IVF, she had my twin brother, Rex, and I and she did everything for us. When she was diagnosed with bowel cancer, her dream was to make it to our 16th birthday, she was so close. We‘re so blessed to have had such an amazing mother.
After experiencing constant tiredness, breathlessness and insomnia, Mum went to her GP. She had a CT scan and was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer.
My brother and I were heartbroken. We never expected something so horrible to happen. We made sure Christmas was special that year as she was told she may not have long to live.
Mum’s treatment started on 10 February 2021 with eight cycles of FOLFOXFIRI which helped shrink the tumours. After fighting to be allowed liver surgery, she had over 25 tumours removed. She then had six cycles of FOLFOXFIRI. She was given the all-clear and was in remission from July to August 2022. However, doctors then found she had tumours in her abdomen and chest, and she had to continue chemotherapy.
In June 2023 I began to see changes in Mum’s behaviour. She would repeat herself, trip and fall over, and I worried she may have had a stroke. One night her speech became slurred, she struggled to carry her leg and felt numb on one side of her body. I rang my godmother, and we took her to the hospital. By the morning, she was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer in her parietal lobe.
She was allowed home after being prescribed dexamethasone steroids and she had brain surgery on 23 August. Afterwards, it felt like I’d lost my mum, as she wasn’t the same and seemed much angrier. We then found out she’d caught a brain infection and had cranium and brain damage from the surgery.
I started to see her improve, but within days, we were told they had found more brain cancer. It felt like nothing was ever going to help. On 9 September, my brother received a call in the early hours of the morning telling him that Mum had had a heart attack. Her lungs had filled with fluid, and she wasn’t likely to make it through the night.
She was placed on end-of-life care and moved to a care home. I met such lovely people and will forever be grateful to them for comforting my mum. She out did everyone again though and continued to survive.
After a month at the care home, she lost all movement in her bowels and was in immense pain. The doctor found she had a blockage high up in her intestine. The options were to have emergency surgery, or to let mum go.
She was moved to a hospice. I slept in Mum’s room every night with my godmother. On her last night, she began to make noises when she was breathing, and by 5.30pm she had passed away. I’m so glad I was with her when she took her last breath.
I want the whole world to know how strong Mum was, she did everything for my brother and I, and she’ll always be my best friend.
I also have a message to others; never give up and always fight your corner. Because Mum was so strong and fought so hard, I had another two and a half years with her, and I’ll cherish those years forever.
Hayley shared her story with us in her own words in 2022. You can read that here.
