Mum's 'nightmare' as weight loss operation in Turkey leads to surprise diagnosis

11 March 2024 , 06:16

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Katie Schofield, 32 and her dad, David, 61 (Image: Katie Schofield / SWNS)

A mum has shared how her "nightmare" gastric sleeve operation in Turkey led to a shock diagnosis.

Katie Schofield, 32, suffered mental health issues after her mum Sandra, 53, died and gained five stone. She had a gastric sleeve operation in Turkey, and while she said she wasn't happy with the procedure, she lost lots of weight.

So much so she found a pea-sized lump on her left breast and she was diagnosed with breast cancer - the same type which had killed her mum. And just two weeks later her dad, David, a 61-year-old machine operator was also diagnosed with stage two breast cancer.

Now both are fighting the disease together - and David has tested positive for the BRCA gene, while Katie is being referred for further genetic tests. Katie credits her weight loss with finding the cancer in the first place.

Katie, a full-time mum from Liverpool, told the Liverpool Echo: "In the first four weeks I lost about two stone - because I just couldn't eat. Now, I've lost seven stone in total. I suffered loads of complications - like a blood clot in my main portal vein, two blood clots in my right arm and a throat-and-lung infection. But a month later, I finally started to feel like myself again, and I could enjoy my new body.

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Mum's 'nightmare' as weight loss operation in Turkey leads to surprise diagnosis

Katie Schofield, 32, had a gastric sleeve operation in Turkey, and while she said she wasn't happy with the procedure, she lost lots of weight (Katie Schofield / SWNS)

"I think the weight loss was the reason for me finding the lump when I did - my boobs were totally gone, and I had an uncomfortable pea-sized lump in my left one, which I found while washing. It was painless - but uncomfortable. So I went to see a doctor - thinking I couldn't possibly have anything else wrong with me."

Sandra, a civil servant, was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer at 46, in 2011. She had a course of radiotherapy, and spent five years on tamoxifen - a medication specifically used to treat breast cancer. But in 2017, after going into remission she began experiencing a severely bloated stomach. After a year going "back-and-forth" to the GP, she was eventually re-diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in May 2017 - and died on August 27.

Katie said: "Mum originally got the all-clear - but by the time she started getting her stomach symptoms, it was too late."

Katie, who is currently unemployed due to her health issues, began struggling with trauma and depression from losing her mum. Comfort eating, as well as the side effects from her antidepressants, led her to gaining nearly six stone in weight. Before her mum's death, she weighed 10st - but six years later, she was 15st 8lb. She decided to look into gastric sleeve surgery in Turkey - after "falling hook, line and sinker" for the success stories she saw on social media.

And on May 2, 2023, she spent £4350 to fly to Adana, Turkey and get the op, and suffered a number of side effects such as rapid weight loss and a blood clot. Finally she started to feel better and after five months of "normality" - Katie found a pea-sized lump in her left breast while showering.

She visited Aintree Hospital for biopsies and on November 30 2023, she was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer - the same type as her mum's. Within two weeks, David began complaining of a sore, inverted nipple. Katie recognised this as a sign of breast cancer - so she "begged" her dad to get tested.

David initially dismissed the idea - and said, "don't be stupid, men don't get breast cancer." Katie says this was reiterated by doctors' reactions - with one saying, "if it hasn't killed you yet, it's not going to kill you now."

Katie said: "I was furious. If my dad was a female - this never would've happened. My dad still won't go to his appointments without taking me - because he feels like it's a 'woman's disease'." There's so much stigma, and the bloody shame of it. There needs to be more awareness raised of male breast cancer."

She took her dad to Royal Liverpool University Hospital with his inverted nipple looking "nastier than I'd seen it before - really red and angry". A doctor referred him for a biopsy - and five days later, it was confirmed he also had breast cancer - but stage two. Katie will be undergoing a single mastectomy on her left side soon, and she won't need chemotherapy or radiotherapy after she's had the surgery. While David had a full mastectomy and lymphadenectomy (lymph node removal) on February 28 - and is currently awaiting his treatment plan.

An ultrasound has shown he's got a growth on his pelvic bone - so he's waiting more tests. Katie said: "It's come as such a shock - dad's always been fit, but he's really tired now. But I'm so glad we're in it together. Doctors keep saying how strange it is that we've all got the exact same cancer - we're a medical mystery. They're absolutely baffled - particularly as my two parents have the same hormonal cancer. I'm feeling extremely positive, though - I've got to be. I have to make sure I don't look sick for my children."