Warning: This article contains discussion of miscarriage which some readers may find distressing.
Despite being told that ‘time is off the essence’, Sammy-Jo Luxton has had her appointment to discussion treatment on the NHS cancelled four times.
The 26-year-old has stage-four endometriosis with cysts on her ovaries and lesions ‘everywhere’ and is now fundraising to get private treatment.
A chronic condition with no cure, this is where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb grow in other parts of the body.
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Sammy-Jo suffered with ‘really heavy’ periods from 14 years old and was hospitalised due to intense pain at 17 but was just prescribed with paracetamol and ibuprofen.
“Quite early on I realised I was having different periods to the normal standards,” the professional fighter from Manchester said. “Doctors definitely fobbed me and my parents off and said it was just a bad period and one of those things, and I’d have to live with it.”
Unfortunately a condition that affects one in 10 women, the average time to receive a diagnosis in the UK is a whopping nine years and four months.
And Sammy-Jo only considered it to be a possible cause after exchanging stories with someone at the gym.
“She ended up getting lesions cut away and we were exchanging stories about periods and she said you should get checked out because it sounds like you’ve got this,” she explained.
However, as Sammy-Jo had miscarried in February 2024, in April 2024 with twins, and in October 2024, she says doctors ‘focused more’ on those.
“I was taken off the list for any surgeries,” she explained. “I felt pretty helpless.
“From that point my symptoms got a lot worse and I was bleeding from my rectum which is obviously not normal.”
She said it was at this point they started ‘to believe everything’ as she took ‘matters into her own hands’.
“After I started bleeding from my rectum I started pushing through and got an emergency referral to gynaecology at North Manchester General Hospital,” Sammy-Jo said.
“I had lesions everywhere. Doctors said ‘this is quite bad, and with the extent of everything we should act on this quickly’.”
It was thought the endometriosis was reaching her bowel and she claims she was told that ‘time is of the essence’.
However, the appointment with gynaecology to discuss a treatment plan was cancelled four times - on 23 December 2025, 8 January 2026, 14 January 2026 and 23 February 2026.
“They said it was due to bereavement issues, sickness issues, annual holidays, and not enough nurses,” Sammy-Jo explained.
“Every day I’m medicated with paracetamol and ibuprofen and then on my flare up days I’m inconsolable. I’m taking codeine and when I’m hospitalised taking Oramorph.
“It gets to stages where I don’t feel like a human anymore.”
She finally got her appointment on 2 March but she says doctors couldn’t give her an operation date ‘due to wait times’.
Living in daily pain, unable to fight and dealing with the ‘mental hardship’ of the chronic condition, Sammy-Jo has set up a GoFundMe for private treatment to help her get her life back.
A spokesperson for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said: “We sincerely apologise to Ms Luxton for the rescheduling of her appointments. We fully understand the frustration this has caused and how difficult endometriosis is to live with.
“At Ms Luxton's recent appointment on Monday 2 March, the next steps for her treatment plan were discussed. We continually review our waiting lists and treat all our patients in order of clinical priority."
If you need support and advice following a pregnancy loss, you can contact the Tommy’s team at [email protected]. You can also call them for free on 0800 014 7800, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
If you have been affected by the contents of this article, please find more information and support via Endometriosis UK on their website, or call 0808 808 2227.
Jess Battison