Woman thought stomach cramps were period - but she planned her own funeral

11 December 2023 , 14:53

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Faye Louise told how she had stomach pains (Image: Jam Press Vid/faye.louiseuk)

A woman who was given a cancer diagnosis so bad that she planned her own funeral had thought that the pain in her stomach was period cramps.

Luckily, surgeons were able to operate and save her life - but she ended up losing eight of her internal organs in the process. Faye Louise, from West Sussex, feared the incredibly rare tumour that began in her appendix would kill her and she began to make arrangements for her funeral.

The 39-year-old started to get severe menstrual cramps a few years ago, which occured either side of her actual period. But then she found she was getting pain at other times away from her period - saying it felt like a sharp, constant stitch and so decided to see her GP.

Faye Louise with her partner Will before her operation (Jam Press/faye.louiseuk)

Faye Louise on the 5th of November after her operation (Jam Press/faye.louiseuk)

At first, her doctor put her pain down to constipation or bloating and prescribed a laxative. But when there was no relief from the pain, she was referred for an ultrasound. The scan in march this year showed Faye, who works as a flight dispatcher and model, had a 17cm cyst on her left ovary that was growing into her stomach and pushing into her bladder and kidneys. Doctors said she needed surgery to remove it.

However, tests also revealed swelling on her appendix, so medics decided to remove them as well as the cyst during one operation to prevent any further issues. While the cyst was benign, surgeons found that her appendix had a cancerous tumour inside it.

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The devastated woman, who documented her cancer journey for her 30,000 Instagram followers, said: "There was no indication of any cancer at all before the operation. [It] felt like my world came crashing down. I lost my mum to bowel cancer two years ago, so my initial thought was this is it for me – history is repeating itself. I had panic attacks frequently. It was honestly the worst days and weeks of my life. I was looking at funeral plans and telling my partner Will I wouldn't live to see 45 or 50."

Faye Louise even started planning her own funeral (Jam Press/faye.louiseuk)

Surgeons were able to operate and save her life (Jam Press/faye.louiseuk)

A biopsy revealed she had pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), which usually begins in the appendix, ovaries or bladder as a small polyp. It is thought just three in one million people are hit by the condition. Surgeons were forced to leave the mass inside Faye Louise's body to make sure it didn't rupture and leak cells into other organs.

Many patients have no symptoms of PMP, making it hard to diagnose. Signs can include abdominal or pelvic pain, difficulties becoming pregnant, abdominal swelling and bloating, changes in bowel habits and a loss of appetite. It eventually spreads through the wall of the appendix and to the peritoneum – the sheet of smooth tissue that surrounds the abdominal organs.

Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital specialises in this type of complicated cancer and Faye Louise was referred there in September this year. She added: "My consultant showed me my scans and told me the cancer had spread around the peritoneal area.

Faye Louise and her mother in 2021 (Jam Press/faye.louiseuk)

"He told me the proposed treatment was a very extensive operation and said they would have to remove multiple organs. Heated chemotherapy would then be applied directly into the abdomen. It's the magic potion that kills off any cancer the surgeons can't see."

She underwent this operation last month and had eight organs removed, including her gallbladder, spleen, appendix, small intestine (which was rejoined to her colon), ovaries, uterus, and part of her liver, plus her peritoneum. Recovering from that has proved to be very hard but she has been helped all the way by her partner Will, 30.

Faye Louise said: "I will now have a three-to-six-month recovery period at home. So far, it's been very painful and very difficult. I'm in early menopause now, so I will have to take hormone replacement therapy. I will also have to have follow-up scans annually to make sure there's no reoccurrence.

'Now I just want to look forward. I'm excited to spend Christmas with my family and I want to cherish every moment in my life. I feel like I have stared death in the face. Some days I just can't believe I've been through this and it all started with a cyst. It still feels too good to be true that I'm cancer free.'

Faye Louise has now been declared cancer-free and is urging other women battling similar symptoms to get them checked out. She is also determined to raise awareness for PMP. Writing on Instagram, she said: "Ladies if you feel bloated and think maybe [it] must be period [...] go and get a scan, get checked out."

Paul Donald