Hannelore G’s story

I was diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer end November in 2022, after a colonoscopy. This was a scheduled colonoscopy to check for polyps. I had been having regular colonoscopies, initially annual then biannual, for 15+ years. The first one found an abnormal precancerous polyp. After that I had polyps quite regularly, always benign because they were found early.

In 2017 I had a second clear biannual colonoscopy – no polyps. I was told I would not need another colonoscopy for at least 5 years. I argued about that, feeling that three years would be more appropriate but was overruled.

Firstly, what was the reason I had the first colonoscopy? I had an unusual oily discharge which was put down to eating too many plums, but my very thorough GP decided to be on the safe side and do a colonoscopy. As it happens that discharge was a one-off and despite eating lots of fruit, including plums, I have never experienced such a discharge since. My GP’s caution saved my life.

I enquired about timing and was told that my Stage 3 cancer had started approximately 2½ to 3 years earlier. So had I had a colonoscopy at 3 years, if not cancer, then at least a polyp would have been found.

I actually experienced few traditional symptoms. I did not have diarrhoea, nor constipation, nor pain, cramps or bloating. The only symptom I had towards the end of the five-year period and the scheduled colonoscopy was a strong and unpleasant smell. I did wonder about it but this was August/September 2022, and I was due for a colonoscopy in November.

At the time of my diagnosis I felt calm. I am a ‘it is what it is’ type of person and I get on with dealing with whatever problem I am faced. Because of Christmas I was scheduled for a hemi-colectomy in early January 2023, just a few weeks away.

But I also felt confused.

I did a bowel screen test at the three-year mark, and it came back clear. Of course, such tests are excellent however they are not as effective in finding problems as colonoscopies are.

Although I had had several polyps and many colonoscopies, and I well know that anyone can get cancer including me, it seemed unreal; insofar as my diet – it is excellent, mostly vegetarian. I do not eat meat although I do eat fish. I do not smoke, I do not drink alcohol, and I do strong exercise regularly. I was, and I still am, very fit. I did everything right and yet here I am.

I was with a friend when I received the phone call about the diagnosis, and she was and still is extremely supportive. We live in separate houses but on the same block of land so we see each other pretty well every day.

After the surgery I had six months of chemotherapy, and my friend supported me all through that. Another friend who I saw less often, but we were close, was also very supportive. The thing is, she too supported me all through chemotherapy, we lunched regularly, neither of us knowing at the time that she too had cancer. In her case it was pancreatic cancer and Stage 4 by the time it was diagnosed. She died in early 2024. I still miss her.

I don’t know what might have helped me prevent this, perhaps had I had more knowledge. I was aware of cancer statistics overall, especially in my age group and I had never had a ‘it will never happen to me’ type illusion.

I do know, indeed I’m very aware, that what I should have done is put more pressure on my GP for that three-year mark and as a last resort paid for a private colonoscopy. Truth is, that at some level it had not occurred to me that I could actually do that. I had it in my mind that the statistics cut across public and private and that therefore they applied in both systems. With the wisdom of hindsight – that was a foolish thought.

My one piece of advice:

Do not – feel nervous about getting checked. If you have concerns check them out. Every person on the planet does poo, those who don’t, die. A cousin of my mother’s before I was born died from constipation. This would have been back in the 1930s I suspect he may have had bowel cancer.

Pooing is as natural as breathing eating, drinking … nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed to talk about.

We live in a culture that views that particular bodily function as unspeakable. I wonder how many people have suffered minor or major suffering simply because they are/were too embarrassed to speak out.

The most important advice I would give to someone is ‘do not ignore your feelings’. Go with your feelings, have medical checks, put aside the embarrassment, and be assertive, be very assertive. It is your body and your life.