In 2023 I was diagnosed with bowel cancer and it was completely unexpected.

I had been a teacher for 20 years and had just decided to leave and look for a new challenge, a change of scene. I’d booked in to see my GP as I had been experiencing a bit of bloating and as my mum has Ulcerative Colitis I was just sensitive to what it could be. It was just after Deborah James (BowelBabe) had passed away and I’d asked the doctor, purely for peace of mind, to check for any signs of bowel cancer. He’d laughed and said ‘You’re far too young’, but agreed to test me for it.

A week later the surgery called me up and booked me in for a colonoscopy. Of course, I was extremely nervous and after the procedure even apologised for wasting their time, assuming it was just peri-menopause as I was in my early 40’s. The consultant quickly explained how glad they were I’d come in; they’d found something. They had found a tumour – it was bowel cancer. I was so grateful that my mum had come with me to the appointment as telling family about my diagnosis was so hard. My eldest daughter had a friend whose mum had just died of cancer and we waited a few weeks- till I’d been staged and had a treatment plan – until we told them.

Everything moved very quickly, I had a CT scan to confirm the diagnosis and then I was referred to Macmillan Cancer for treatment within a couple of weeks. My treatment plan was due to be 4 rounds of chemo followed by surgery and another 4 rounds of chemo afterwards. My first session was fine, not pleasant but all ran smoothly. My second infusion however made me extremely ill, and I ended up in hospital. I was using the bathroom every hour, even though I was barely eating and although a doctor suggested it might be chemotherapy induced colitis it took 2 weeks for it to be properly diagnosed my steroids treatment to begin. After another week in hospital, I had stabilised and was able to go home however in those 3 weeks I had lost 3.5 stone.

At this stage I was feeling extremely low and fed up. I can completely empathise with those going through chemotherapy now and know the impact it can have on your mental health too. I just didn’t want to get out of bed. Luckily though I have a truly supportive family and my partner Simon is just amazing.

During this time, the focus was just on managing the colitis before cancer treatment was to resume but unfortunately, I had a blockage which meant I was in extreme pain and rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. It felt like the perfect storm, a mixture of the tumour and colitis parred the chemotherapy treatment, my bowels were all over the place. I woke up with after surgery with a stoma.

I had never had to stay in hospital before and had gone from a being fit and healthy to suddenly spending 3 weeks with colitis and 10 days in after surgery in a busy ward. It was a lot to deal with. The nurses were all really good, very busy but were wonderfully supportive. I luckily got to grips quickly with my bag and have had great support from community nurses too throughout my whole experience including through my chemotherapy cycles post-surgery.

I’m now through chemotherapy and have adjusted to life with a stoma – though I have started discussing a reversal with my doctor – more on that later! 10 months since surgery it has been a rollercoaster journey but one I couldn’t have done without the support around me. I love talking to others about my experiences and hearing theirs. Knowing I’m not alone is really important to me.

Summa