'I couldn't get a GP appointment so ignored my symptoms before horror diagnosis'
A young woman who couldn't get a GP appointment and ignored symptoms - including bleeding outside of her period - was later diagnosed with cancer.
Lucy Curran was just 27 when the initial symptoms began and, after the country went into coronavirus lockdown, the signs worsened as she experienced the feeling of "wetting herself". She had hoped the symptoms would go away and ignored them but, nearly two years after the first sign, Lucy booked herself in for a smear test.
This confirmed she had stage-two cervical cancer at the age of 28, something she described as "quite a blow". It had spread outside the cervix, into the surrounding tissues, and was given a treatment plan. For seven weeks, Lucy had chemotherapy once a week, and radiotherapy daily.
Lucy, from Warrington, Cheshire, couldn't get a GP appointment and ignored her symptoms (Lucy Curran/PA Real Life)
The young woman bled outside of her period, a symptom of the cancer (Lucy Curran/PA Real Life)At the end of her treatment, she was meant to have three sessions of internal radiation but was told that surgeons could not perform the operation because they could not place the equipment where it was needed internally without perforating her womb.
Speaking to Manchester Evening News, Lucy said: "Because I couldn’t have that, I was always worried that it would come back."
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After another 10 rounds of external radiation and a 12-week waiting period, Lucy was told there was no evidence of disease and that she should "carry on with her life as normal."
However, her treatment meant that she was experiencing a medically induced menopause. She explained: "I found not being able to have kids one of the hardest parts of this – I had planned to have children and it was so hard to think they would never be a part of my future.
"The whole experience was such a whirlwind – once I finished my treatments, to then be thrown into the menopause was so difficult. I couldn’t find any guidance on what to do when you have symptoms at my age, and I had to really push my GP to get HRT."
Tragically, eleven months on from her initial diagnosis, at age 29, Lucy was diagnosed with cervical cancer again, after her initial symptoms of irregular bleeding and watery discharge returned.
Lucy had a urostomy bag fitted to remove the tumour (Lucy Curran/PA Real Life)The cancer had spread further than her cervix but it was still within her pelvis. "I took it way harder the second time, my family and I were devastated, purely because the treatment options for cervical cancer aren’t great.
"Because I had already had chemotherapy, I couldn’t have it again to kill the cancer, it would just prolong my life. Surgery was my only option to get rid of it and I was hoping and praying that I could get it."
Now aged 30, Lucy was eventually able to have surgery to have a urostomy bag fitted, and was diagnosed as having no evidence of disease. She said: "It was such a huge relief for my family and I – I was over the moon really."
Lucy explained how she adjusted to life with a stoma bag, saying: "For the first couple of days, the nurses changed it for me and I was quite upset, but once I got home it became like second nature.
"I told everyone at work about it and they were really accepting – I just empty the bag every hour, and sometimes you can see a bit of a bulge in tight clothing, but everyone knows what it is. I haven’t got back into the dating scene yet, but I know the right person will come along and accept it, but it is quite daunting."
Lucy found that there was little information or support out there for those with a urostomy bag, so she decided to post on her Instagram page, under the handle @kicking_cancer_in_the_crotch, to share her journey and raise awareness.
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She said: "I get messages from people asking about symptoms and things like that, so I just think that you can’t put a price on that – if just a few people get checked after seeing my account."
Lucy also teaches fellow stoma bag wearers how to style their outfits. She said: "I wanted to show that you can still dress in things that don’t visibly show your bag."
Since then, Lucy has taken part in a campaign called Beyond the Stoma, which aims to raise awareness about people with different types of bags. For more information about Beyond the Stoma, visit: beyondthestoma.com.
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