Health worker with cancer says 'get issues checked'

An NHS health assistant diagnosed with an inoperable cancer has urged others not to ignore symptoms.

Just before Christmas mother-of-two Clair Honeywood, from King's Lynn, discovered she had a tumour which had wrapped itself around a blood vessel, making it impossible for surgeons to cut it out.

Ms Honeywood, who has suffered with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) since she was a teenager, said she should have gone to her GP after suffering a distended stomach, but instead put it down to her IBS.

"I don't ever get pain in my stomach, just lower abdomen, but I just didn't think too much of it," she said.

In April, she began having chest pains and had a bloated stomach, despite not eating any foods that might have triggered the inflammation.

"My stomach felt like it was burning, like I'd eaten really spicy food, or that it had been doused in acid.

"I felt really nauseous and I just thought I'd picked up a bug," she said.

After the A&E assistant was forced to leave work partway through a shift, she had some blood tests, which came back normal.

But despite continuing with a bland diet, her symptoms did not ease.

A month later, on the morning of her partner's 40th birthday, the pain was so intense, Ms Honeywood ended up at A&E.

Several investigations were carried out and she was sent home to wait for the results.

"But I began turning yellow and I knew something was not right," she said.

She returned to A&E, where one of the consultants confirmed the pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

Ms Honeywood said her first thoughts were for her children.

"It was a complete shock. Like how do you tell them? It's really hard," she said.

Further investigations revealed the cancer had not spread, but the tumour had wrapped around an artery "making it virtually inoperable".

"My whole world fell apart," she said. "But you have to overcome it and keep going."

She has since had chemotherapy to shrink the tumour, and is awaiting a second round.

"I'm hoping that if they can shrink it, there is a chance I could have an operation," she said.

"I understand the risks are extremely high, and again, it'll be a case of weighing up the pros and cons.

"I know my chances aren't great but I have to fight, I've got children."

The NHS worker's advice to others is "please go and get yourself checked out".

She added: "Don't be scared to, just do what it takes so another family doesn't have to go through this, with it being inoperable, because it's a nightmare."

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