Sarah Martin, Doncaster

I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2022 at just 50 years old.  

In November I had started to feel extremely tired and noticed that I had lost a lot of weight rather quickly and was suffering from bloating and trapped wind. I spoke to my husband and asked him if I should go to see the doctor.  

I already had an appointment to see my GP and so I told her about my symptoms and she asked me to do a FIT test. This came back positive and I was then booked in for a colonoscopy at the beginning of December. I had the prep for the colonoscopy, but on the morning of the procedure the clinician said that the scope could not proceed because it was not clear enough and that it looked like the preparation had failed. I was then rebooked for two weeks’ time and given laxatives to take in the meantime as well as the preparation the day before the next procedure. On the next appointment the colonoscopy went ahead and the clinician found the tumour causing an almost complete blockage in my sigmoid colon. 

I was completely shocked, I felt numb and just could not believe that this was happening to me. I had to go home with my husband and tell my son and daughter and the rest of my family — this all happened a week before Christmas Day.

Christmas went by in a blur and everything happened so quickly. I was booked in for urgent surgery in January, which was successful. They removed the tumour and 16 surrounding lymph nodes. I cannot fault my treatment from beginning to end, the surgeon and cancer nurse specialists have all been amazing and very supportive. 

Physically I recovered well and consider myself to have been a good patient for my family! I was very sore in the first few weeks and gradually gained my strength back. 

My results after my operation showed that the cancer had spread into one of my lymph nodes and I was going to have three months of chemotherapy. This was very hard and I still suffer from the side effects, especially peripheral neuropathy and fatigue.

I have regular blood tests every 12 weeks and speak to the cancer nurses regularly also, as well as CT scan every 12 months. My latest CT scan was clear with No Evidence of Disease and my goal is to reach remission in three years’ time.   

Mentally I was still finding it hard to come to terms with my diagnosis and could not have got through without the love and support of my wonderful family. We cried a lot together and found that speaking about how we felt really helped. I also enjoyed doing jigsaws — this really helped to take my mind of everything and I built up quite a collection! 

I am starting to feel more positive and have realised that you really do have to live for today and enjoy your life.

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