Mum diagnosed with womb cancer after 'pulling back' during DIY project

13 March 2024 , 09:35

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Joan Frances Boyle suffered back pain - which she later learned was a sign of her cancer (Image: UGC)

A mum who thought she had pulled a muscle doing a DIY project was stunned to learn she had aggressive womb cancer.

Joan Frances Boyle, 65, was dashed to A&E after she could barely move following the injury at home. She had been insulating a cabin ceiling when she felt pain in her back.

An MRI scan found Joan, a mother of two, had a slipped disc in her back - but it also revealed a large tumour in her womb. She was diagnosed with myometrium - a slow-growing cancer that starts in the muscular wall of the uterus - last month. A biopsy revealed Joan has a p53 gene mutation which can cause cancer cells to grow and spread rapidly throughout her body.

Speaking from her home in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Joan said: "When the consultant came and told me they’d found a mass in my womb, I thought they were talking to the wrong patient. I was there for the pain in my back which had left me barely able to move and in agony.

"I was told I would need to wait for a gynecology referral. They couldn’t operate on my back either because the disc had slipped to the side and they could hit a nerve during the operation which would leave me paralysed.

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"After 16 days in hospital, I just wanted to go home so they discharged me while I waited for a referral for a scan of my uterus. I had to wait until February to have that done before they confirmed the mass was cancerous."

Doctors then told Joan, who is a hypnotherapist, about her p53 gene mutation, and she is now still waiting for a date for a hysterectomy. It could be a three-month wait, reports Daily Record.

"I’m scared I could be buried by then. The NHS is under such huge pressure - I know that first hand because my husband Allan is an ambulance driver," Joan continued. The mum and her family began to research treatments to boost her immune system while waiting for surgery. Her friends have rallied round to launch a JustGiving page with the hopes of raising £45,000 for private treatment.

Joan added: "I started looking for ways to help give my immune system a fighting chance and to get ready for the surgery. I came across Dendritic Cell Therapy at a private clinic in Birmingham. Cell therapy is supposed to help the body identify and kill cancer cells. But it costs around £45,000. They can do it through a deposit scheme but that’s £17,000 upfront and then £3000 a month thereafter which we just can’t afford ourselves."

To donate to Joan's appeal, please click here.

Sarah Vesty