Mary Stenstrom, Stoke-on-Trent
I’m a retired staff nurse. I was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer in the summer of 2018.
Symptoms to surgery
I lost approximately a stone prior to becoming unwell. That didn’t really concern me at the time as I felt fine, but as friends and neighbours commented on my weight loss, I contacted my GP and had a full blood test carried out. All the results were okay and there were no red flags at all. The day I got a copy of my blood results, my GP saw me and commented on my weight loss, but I told him that all my blood results were okay.
I had no symptoms whatsoever until I was getting into bed and then started having the most terrible pain on the right side of my abdomen. I also noticed that a lump had appeared! A few hours later, I asked my husband to take me to the nearest A&E, which was very unlike me. It was a long drive, and he drove as fast as he could without breaking the speed limit!
When I arrived at A&E, I was triaged by a nurse, and she asked me what I would put my pain level on from 1 to 10. I said 9. I was then seen and examined by a doctor who thought I had a ‘strangulated hernia’. He then sent me to the SAU – the surgical assessment unit. I was then seen and examined by four surgical registrars or doctors. The first two also said they suspected it was a strangulated hernia. The second two registrars said it was my bowel, which came as a shock. Several hours later, around midnight, I was finally admitted to a surgical ward and then had to sign a consent form for an operation. I was also told that I might have to have a temporary stoma, so that it wouldn’t come as a total shock if I did need to have one.
The following morning, I was wheeled down to theatre. I had a right sided hemicolectomy and had 21 centimetres of my bowel removed. As soon as I came round from the anaesthetic, I remember looking inside my hospital gown to see if I did have a stoma, but I didn’t have one, which at the time I felt very relieved. A day or two later the surgical registrar came to see me. He told me that I had had an ‘intussusception’. I didn’t have a clue as to what that was, so he explained that my bowel had ‘telescoped’. He said this was common in children, but very rare in adults – the intussusception had pushed out a tumour, which was what the cause of my pain had been. He also told me that they’d removed a tumour, and I’d get the results in around four weeks’ time. I remember thinking there was no way the tumour would be cancerous, as I’ve always considered myself to be healthy – I’ve never smoked, don’t drink, and don’t eat junk food or too much processed food. I’ve always been slim, and I loved going for long walks. After 10 days I was discharged home.
I had my outpatient appointment around four weeks post op. My sister (who was also a nurse) came with me to get my results. I was told I had a 4.5cm tumour removed and the tumour was a stage 2 (T2) cancer. 14 lymph nodes were removed and all of those were clear, and all margins were also clear. I was also told that I would not need any follow up treatment! I was incredibly relieved and so fortunate.
The nurse who gave me the results did say that if I hadn’t had the intussusception, then my outcome would most probably have been a very different story, as I could have gone on for another 12 months and by that time, the tumour could most probably have been stage 4. I really do consider myself to be extremely fortunate knowing what could’ve happened. It took me quite a long time to process what had happened to me, as I had felt absolutely fine. I’d had no symptoms apart from losing around a stone in weight, but as I had a full blood test, and all the results were ‘normal’, I didn’t even suspect that there was anything wrong with me at all.
Another emergency
When I went to see the colorectal specialist nurse weeks post-op in August 2018, after she’d given me the results of the tumour, she mentioned that I could possibly develop scarring and adhesions. I remember asking her if there was anything that I could do to prevent it from happening. She said: “Put it right out of your head – if it does happen, it will be in 20- or 30-years’ time.” That felt very reassuring, and I didn’t dwell on it at all.
Not long after, my husband wanted us to go on holiday. I reluctantly agreed and so we went on a 10-night cruise to Spain and Portugal on 21 November 2018. We had a good time until Wednesday 28 November. I was sat watching some dancers and I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my stomach, so I went back to our room and went straight to bed. At midnight I jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom and started vomiting profusely. This went on every single hour of the night, so you can imagine how exhausted I was!
I thought I had a bit of food poisoning, so my husband rang the medical centre, and a nurse came up and gave me an injection to stop the sickness. It briefly stopped, but it carried on later that day. We were due to disembark on Saturday morning from Southampton, but as I still had a lot of pain and was being sick on and off, we went to see the ship’s doctor on Friday evening. I briefly told him about my bowel cancer. He examined me, gave me some very strong analgesia, and told me that as I’d be getting off the ship in the morning, I’d be okay. We then had a very long coach journey back to Stoke on Trent. Thankfully I didn’t have any further vomiting on the coach.
As soon as we got home, I went straight to bed, and the vomiting resumed. I vomited litres of fluid almost every hour during Saturday night, and on-and-off all day Sunday. My husband and my sister were urging me to go to A&E. I was incredibly weak and exhausted at this stage and could hardly stand up, but I agreed to go to hospital on Monday morning. By this stage my stomach was very distended!
My husband had phoned my colorectal specialist nurse. She fast-tracked me so that as soon as we got to A&E I was sent directly to the surgical assessment unit. I was seen and examined by a surgeon and told that it was most likely adhesions and scarring which was causing the severe vomiting, so I was in shock!
I was admitted to a surgical ward and the surgeon wanted to try to resolve this issue, ‘conservatively’. On about the 4th attempt, a senior nurse managed to fit me with a nasogastric tube. This was around 1am and I was beyond exhausted at this stage and just wanted to go to bed. The tube didn’t work as it should have, and the surgeon came to see me several times hoping that it would start to drain. On the Tuesday the surgeon informed me that he would be doing an emergency laparotomy the following day, but due to me being clinically dehydrated and having stage 2 kidney failure, my operation was delayed due to my abnormal blood results. I had the emergency laparotomy on the Thursday where they removed several more litres of fluid. I was in hospital for around 10 days and was then discharged.
I again found this difficult to process. I had lost another huge amount of weight, and it took me quite a few months to get back to my ‘normal’ self. I did find it psychologically difficult, which I feel I should not have done. Ultimately, I was so incredibly fortunate to have not needed any further treatment. I know I was one of the lucky ones.
Where I am now
It’s almost eight years since I had my emergency laparotomy and my bowel operation. I’m doing good – I can’t complain really – but my bowel habits have never gone back to what I would call ‘normal’, at least as they were before my bowel cancer op. I can only describe them now as being ‘unpredictable’ – I was advised to only drink decaf coffee or tea, which is fine by me. I still can have explosive poos several times a day, but thankfully, it’s not every day. I can pass normal poos for a week and then it’s explosive again. That’s had a huge impact on what I eat or drink and I always have to make sure I know where the toilets are when we go out.
Up until my bowel cancer diagnosis, I didn’t really take much notice of bowel cancer. I always considered myself to be quite healthy, and I personally didn’t know anyone who had been diagnosed with bowel cancer.
However, I followed Dame Deborah James and what that amazingly courageous young lady went through was incredibly tragic and heartbreaking. If anyone has any concerns regarding their poo habits changing, especially a younger person, then they should push their GP for further tests or screening.
