Chris Norris, London
When I was diagnosed aged 32 I had been experiencing abdominal pain and had to see my GP four times before being referred for a colonoscopy. The cancer had spread to my liver and peritoneum. I was devastated to be told I was incurable and my life expectancy was just two or three years. Nearly a decade later, I still have cancer, but I try to live life the way I want to.
My oncologist had mentioned the possibility of cytoreduction surgery and HIPEC early on in my treatment, and after a very successful first course of chemotherapy he made a referral to a specialist surgeon who reviewed my scans and performed a laparoscopy to assess my peritoneum.
HIPEC is usually not offered where cancer has spread to areas other than the peritoneum, but in my case, it was combined with a resection of the small remaining tumour in my liver.
The specialist colorectal nurse was fantastic at answering my questions. I was operated on for about eight hours by four surgeons, including the liver surgeon, and kept sedated until the next day. My recovery was challenging at times, but faster than expected. I spent just under two weeks in hospital but a longer period recovering at home.
While this surgery was very successful in treating the areas of disease I had at the time, unfortunately I have subsequently had further recurrences in distant lymph nodes. I have had two further operations and several courses of targeted radiotherapy, and I am now having ongoing chemotherapy. I have been able to remain disease free for long periods using what my oncologist calls this ‘maintenance’ treatment and it involves fewer drugs than before. I have also had drugs specifically targeting the BRAF mutation.
Living with chemotherapy long term can be tough, but I wouldn’t be here without it. It would be easy to define my life by this disease. It can sometimes be hard to remember what life was like before cancer, but I make the most of every opportunity. I work part time, go on regular holidays with my husband, exercise regularly, am politically active, and volunteer for a few charities.
