Countryfile's Adam Henson's last-minute wedding after wife's cancer diagnosis
Adam Henson's wife, Charlie, has shared her experience of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, describing it as being "hit with a sledgehammer".
She first noticed symptoms over Christmas 2020 when she had a "bad tummy", but despite changing her diet, her condition didn't improve. Charlie eventually saw a GP in February 2021. In his new book, Adam reveals that Charlie had to wait three weeks for an appointment and thought her symptoms would have cleared up by then, but they hadn't.
By March, Charlie was really worried and started sharing her health concerns with friends. Despite having regular diarrhoea and feeling drained, initial tests didn't reveal anything unusual. However, a final test showed that Charlie wasn't absorbing food properly, leading to her being prescribed Creon.
Adam reveals that Charlie had to wait three weeks for an appointment (Neil Sherwood/BBC/BBC/PA Wire)Charlie was told by her GP that it was "highly unlikely" she had pancreatic cancer, but a scan was arranged just to be safe. She said: "While I was waiting to go in, I was overcome by a terrible foreboding, a feeling of utter fear and dread. I was absolutely convinced there was something seriously wrong. I tried to ignore it, telling myself I was just nervous, but I think from that moment, deep down, I knew I was in trouble."
She didn't get her results for about five weeks, during which time she carried on with her life as normal. Charlie, her partner Adam, and their two kids - Ella and Alfie, then aged 23 and 19 - were "lulled into a false sense of security" as they thought that "no news is good news". Charlie got her results while Adam was away working in Scotland. "There was no preamble: it was pancreatic cancer," she said.
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"I was told the scan showed a 4.5cm growth on my pancreas, located in a difficult position and it was very serious. The GP asked if I had anyone with me at home and apologised that she had to discuss this over the phone. I felt I had been hit with a sledgehammer. I knew that this type of cancer had a very low survival rate just five per cent. We also knew of a couple of people who had had it, and their disease had progressed very quickly from diagnosis. I decided not to ring Adam; he was working and what could he do? My mum lives five minutes away, and she and Pete, her partner of many years, came straight over. I honestly don't know what I would have done without them, but I was in absolute hell. I couldn't process it, it was too big to take in."
Charlie then had to book more appointments and tests, eventually telling Adam when he rang her from the airport to tell her he was on his way home, with the presenter then embarking on what felt like a "very long flight home". The pair were told at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital that it was definitely cancer, but there was a possibility that it was a neuroendocrine tumour, a rare, slow-growing type of cancer.
However, Adam and Charlie were told that only two percent of pancreatic cancer is neuroendocrine and, even if it was, the size and positioning of the tumour made it difficult to operate on. If it was not neuroendocrine, then all they could do was offer palliative care.
"We were both stunned," Charlie recalled. "It is hard to blame medical professionals who deal with life or death every day, but when they deliver a statement like that, so matter-of-factly, the effect is devastating." Charlie revealed that she was unable to walk after the registrar "dropped that bomb", with Adam having to carry her down the corridor of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. Due to Covid restrictions, Adam wasn't allowed in with her when she had to have blood taken.
The couple returned home to the Cotswolds in silence as they tried to digest the news. Then Charlie asked Adam something "very important", he recalled. "I told Adam I wanted to get married," Charlie said. "We had been together for many years and had never felt we needed to marry: for me, having children with Adam was our commitment to each other. A wedding had never been important. Now, suddenly, it was the most important thing in the world."
Charlie chose to delay her operation by a week (Dave Benett/Getty Images)"It's ridiculous but I really, really wanted everyone to know how much I love Adam; most importantly, I wanted him to know. It was suddenly such a big thing." Adam was still trying to process what they had just heard at the hospital. His first thought was how they would manage to organise a wedding on top of everything else. But Charlie's mum and sisters took care of the ceremony, booking the first available date at Stroud Registry Office - September 9.
Adam, her husband, shared how he "completely broke down" when he explained to his business partner, Duncan Andrews, why he needed time off work. He had been trying to stay strong for Charlie, but speaking about it made him realise the "enormity of the situation". After a scan and biopsy, Charlie was told her cancer was stage one. Despite being in a tricky spot, the doctor was confident he could operate. "He was cautious, but optimistic," Charlie recalled.
Charlie chose to delay her operation by a week as the doctor said it wouldn't make much difference. This allowed them to have "the most wonderful day". Adam remembered their wedding day fondly: "Charlie wore an ivory dress and looked beautiful. When I saw her walking in on the arm of her mum, I had to struggle to hold it together. Everyone knew that she was going into hospital the next day and it was very emotional. But we also tried very hard not to think of what was hanging over us."
The next day, they said their tearful goodbyes as Charlie went in for her Whipple procedure. Adam felt "helpless" watching her walk into the hospital alone due to restrictions. The operation involved removing parts of the pancreas, gall bladder and duodenum. Adam was told that if anything went wrong during Charlie's operation, he would be called to the hospital immediately. So, when he got a call at 4.30pm saying it had gone well and his wife was "stable and in recovery", he was relieved.
Adam shared: "For the three days that Charlie was in intensive care, no one was allowed to visit. It was a shock when I first saw her because she had drains and drips and tubes coming out from all over her, and she looked very poorly. The most uncomfortable tube went through her nose and down her throat, draining bile from her stomach. This stayed in for three days, despite her begging them to remove it."
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When Charlie returned to their Cotswolds farmhouse, their dogs were thrilled to see her again. Adam was worried they'd knock out her drain. "In the end, rules were broken, and Minnie the dachshund was allowed upstairs to lie on her bed!" he said, adding that animals are "so important to Charlie".
Two weeks after coming home, Charlie could walk half a mile, which made her feel "in control again". "I remember going out one day when it was raining heavily, and it was like the most life-affirming thing I have ever done," she remembered. "I didn't care about getting soaking wet I was alive!"
Charlie's recovery is ongoing, and she has to take Creon with every meal, along with blood thinners and supplements. The family lives in anticipation of her "one six-monthly scan to the next". Charlie admitted that getting a scan is "terrifying", and she starts feeling anxious a couple of months before.
Adam shared: "The whole experience was brutal. Watching her suffer was heartbreaking. But since then, we have made a point of doing lots of things together. Travel is something we both love and we've tried to fit in as much as possible, to Japan and elsewhere. And our Christmas in 2021 was the best of my life."
By May this year, Charlie had returned to work, spending two days a week on set as a location manager in the TV industry. "It's incredible to watch her get back to normal life; something which, at one point, we didn't think would happen," Adam said.
"I sometimes get annoyed with Charlie for worrying about small things, but she's quick to point out that life has to go on and we can't always be defined by what she's been through. Our experience means we both want to make the absolute most of life, say yes to things and make time for what's important."
This is an abridged extract from 'Christmas on the Farm: Wintry Tales from a Life Spent Working with Animals', by Adam Henson, which will be available from Thursday (£22 Sphere).
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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