I went from being told I didn't have cancer to finding out it was stage 4
Published date | 12 April 2023 |
Publication title | Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser |
Although not diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer until June 2020, Laila's symptoms started three years previously when she began multiple courses of iron tablets for recurring anaemia.
By April 2020, acute and more alarming symptoms had developed.
Her distended and bloated stomach felt like it was carrying a bowling ball. Laila lost her appetite and experienced a stabbing pain in her bladder when she peed.
With doctors reluctant to refer her for investigation due to Covid, Laila was prescribed various antibiotics and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) medication.
Almost simultaneously, her mum was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour, and she'd moved in with her parents at their home in the Highlands to help with her care.
When Laila's pain became severe and debilitating, a doctor finally agreed to examine her. On palpating her stomach, he discovered 'several masses' which he said could be an ovarian cyst or a fibroid.
That night, her pain became so severe that she was referred as an emergency to hospital, where an ultrasound scan revealed a large mass on her ovary - a cyst that required surgical removal.
Within hours, a gynaecologist broke the news that high tumour markers were causing them to suspect ovarian cancer.
"I was obviously distraught and in hospital all by myself," explained Laila. "I didn't tell my family that the doctors suspected cancer, as I didn't want to worry them."
" After a CT scan, she was whisked to theatre, where surgeons removed the mass, along with her left ovary, fallopian tube and her appendix, which they said appeared iflamed.
Recovering well, she was discharged after four days. And when the post-surgery pathology report stated that a borderline ovarian tumour had been removed that was not cancerous and no further treatment was required, she was both elated and immensely relieved.
"I had been recommended for a colonoscopy following the operation due to a small polyp found on my appendix," said Laila.
"It was at this point I began wondering if there was something more going on. I was on the phone constantly to various doctors, explaining that I was still in severe pain and was concerned that there may be something wrong with my bowel."
Her fears were repeatedly dismissed by medics, who insisted that they'd have detected anything...
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