Natasha Hayes, Horsham
In August 2021 I was diagnosed with bowel cancer, but really it all started a year before that in September 2020.
I started having a gnawing pain on the left side of my tummy which came and went, sometimes for days. I contacted the doctor and he sent me for an endoscopy which showed a hiatus hernia and gastro reflux disease so I was given medication. However, after a few weeks the pain was still there so I returned to the doctor and he doubled the dose. I left it a couple more weeks but there was still no change so I went back to the doctor again. I have Crohn’s disease so my doctor referred me the gastro team.
After speaking to the gastro doctor, I was referred for an MRI scan. A week after the scan the doctor rang me at work and said they had found a tumour in my bowel which they believed to be cancer and there was also a cyst on my liver. I couldn’t take it in, I burst into tears. Cancer! But I am only 48, I exercise five times a week, I eat healthy, drink in moderation, don’t smoke and I am not overweight. How could this be happening to me?
That afternoon the hospital rang me to offer me an ultrasound on my liver the next day. I went for the ultrasound and was told it was not a cyst and I would need a CT scan. I then had a colonoscopy and when my partner arrived to collect me, we were put into a room and asked if I knew what they were looking for. I said, ‘yes, a tumour’ and the doctor said that that was what they had found so they had taken a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.
A few weeks later I saw a lovely surgeon who confirmed the tumour in my bowel and also two spots: one on my liver and one on my lung. I turned to my partner and said, ‘this is not good.’ The surgeon was brilliant, so calm, he said that I was booked in for a bowel resection in two weeks’ time and that he’d take good care of me. The surgery took place two weeks later and I was back home after five days in hospital. My recovery was good and after three weeks I went back to see the consultant for my follow-up appointment, he confirmed that I had stage 3 cancer. They also took 21 of my lymph nodes and cancer was present in three so I was told I would need chemotherapy. It was my biggest dread.
I started chemo in November, I had four rounds. Chemo was tough but I just broke it down: one done, halfway, two to go, last one. I met some lovely ladies whilst I was having treatment. I suffered very badly from neuropathy in my hands, even taking a plate from the cupboard or flushing the loo would set my fingers off. After I completed all my chemotherapy, I was sent for another MRI scan of my liver and was passed over to a liver specialist.
The specialist was another lovely man who confirmed the presence of a tumour in my liver. Once again, I was booked in for more surgery, a liver resection where 15% of my liver was removed with good margins. No further chemotherapy was needed, hooray! Then I was referred to a lung specialist who told me that they’d like to take a biopsy. That happened a few weeks later and thankfully it was negative for cancer. Whilst I was under the liver specialist, he found that I had stones in my bile duct and gallbladder. I was then referred back to the liver specialist to have my bile duct cleared and my gallbladder removed, which has just been completed. Back in February I was referred to a genetic team who offered me a blood test to test for Lynch syndrome. I’d never heard of it and neither had anyone else I asked.
In July after a five month wait, I was confirmed as having Lynch syndrome and I am now awaiting a hysterectomy. My daughter and other members of my family are now being tested. I have been so well looked after and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way. I’ve had great support from family and friends and my workplace and colleagues. In July I arranged for myself and 30 friends to do a sponsored run for a cancer charity. It was a great day and I was glad to be able to give something back. I’ve always loved to run, and I am now just starting my couch to 5k again and looking forward to some lovely holidays.
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