A woman who was handed a heartbreaking terminal colon cancer diagnosis has opened up about a symptom she experienced that wasn't to do with her gut.
Karen Kennerley, a 57-year-old from Lancashire, has been told by the NHS that palliative chemo, which focuses on prolonging life instead of curing the cancer.
However, the teacher is determined to keep fighting and is hoping to raise £30k to cover the cost of TACE (trans arterial chemoembolization), a potentially life-saving cancer treatment which is offered in Germany.
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Sadly, tragic cancer diagnoses are far too common and frustratingly the disease is often hard to detect and doesn't present symptoms until it has developed to a life-threatening point.
While some with stage four bowel cancer present symptoms such as intense stomach cramping pains and blood in their stool, it was actually something very different which led Karen to get herself checked out by the docs.
She first visited her GP in December 2022 after struggling with fatigue but after a full blood count, her signs of tiredness were simply put down to her working full-time as a teacher in a special educational needs school.
Karen eplained: "The scary thing is, I had no symptoms apart from a bit of fatigue. I worked in a small school for SEN pupils, I was working really hard at the time - I was exhausted.
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"I went to my GP, who ran some blood tests, and referred me for a FIT test and then I was referred for a colonoscopy in January 2023.
"Everyone was telling me I was fit and healthy, that there was nothing to worry about but they were doing the tests to rule things out."
Unfortunately for the mother-of-two, medics discovered a tumour during the colonoscopy.
A major surgery followed in June 2023 to remove the tumour as well as part of her large intestine, before eight rounds of chemotherapy. But by March 2024, she was rushed back to hospital and told that the cancer had progressed to stage four where she was told that palliative cancer treatments were now the only thing she could be offered through the NHS.
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Karen added: "I was devastated from being told that I was benign to then being told I have stage three colon cancer.
"There were so many emotions - I was obviously devastated and then horrifically scared."
However, the teacher has been offered hope after undergoing three cancer treatments in Germany for the hefty price of £35k, but she has now run out of money and is desperately trying to fundraise the rest in order to give her the best chance of survival.
Karen concluded: "The results I have had so far show that the tumours have shrunk nicely but I still need further treatment.
"I have had three rounds so far and I am now out of money.
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"The mental torment is horrendous, worrying about not working, worrying about how I will fund the treatment.
"I am on statutory sick pay which runs out at the beginning of April.
"People with stage four cancer feel totally abandoned, I want to change that, not only for me but for everyone else going through this."
You can support Karen on her GoFundMe page here.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
James Moorhouse