Woman 'numb' after being diagnosed with bladder cancer at just 27
A woman has told of her shock after she was diagnosed with bladder cancer - aged 30 years younger than the average person to suffer from it.
Abbie Jarvis, 27, was diagnosed with grade three cancer after a tumour was found in her bladder. She first started with a range of symptoms including being unable to walk because of pain in her pelvis and having blood in her wee in October last year. Abbie went to A&E around three times because her symptoms were so bad, but was told by doctors that they didn't know what was wrong with her.
After having a cystoscopy, she was given the news that she has grade three bladder cancer - which means her cells look very abnormal and spread quicker. But Abbie says when she was diagnosed, she 'just felt numb' because she was in so much shock - as most people who are told they have the disease are in their sixties.
She said: "They told me my biopsy had come back and that I had a tumour. I didn't take it in for a seconds, I just felt numb and didn't say anything - my eyes were just filling up. I had to get my head around it, especially because I was on my own. The nurse was trying to speak to me and tell me about the whole process and it was going in one ear and out of the other ear.
"She would say certain words to me and it didn't make sense." Abbie started with symptoms, including needing to wee often and having blood in her urine, in October last year. She says she went to her local GP around four times and A&E three times in total, but each time was told doctors didn't know what was wrong with her.
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Abbie was then she could have an overactive bladder or painful bladder syndrome before being diagnosed with cancer. She said: "I went to my doctors around four times in October and then I went to A&E around three times in November - I went through all the emotions. I went and said I had a pain down below and then they either think it's water infection or something else that they will think of first.
Abbie Jarvis is 30 years younger than the average age to have the condition (Abbie Jarvis/SWNS)"Especially with my age, I think they just think other things. But I don't think they would ever test me for cancer straight away, even though I had quite a lot of the symptoms."
Abbie often suffered with UTIs and kidney infections when she was younger so had surgery in 2019 to stretch her urethra. She's been told by doctors the cells in her body could have changed, which resulted in her having the tumour. Abbie, of Warrington, Cheshire, said: "Sometimes having a UTI can change the cells in your bladder but they aren't 100% sure that's what caused it. I don't come into contact with harmful chemicals, which is another reason people get it, so they've said it could be from the UTIs. It's just one of those things."
Abbie is now having BCG treatment, which is given directly into the bladder and makes it react in a way that makes the immune system get rid of cancer cells. Depending on how the treatment goes, Abbie might have to look at other treatment or have surgery to remove her bladder in the future.
She said: "They've said it's not spread and has confined to my bladder, which was a big relief. Because it's not spreading, then I felt like I had a bit of time to try the BCG treatment. If it was spreading, they would be taking my bladder out anyway so they said to just try it and that we can always stop after the first one or two."
"If they just took my bladder out, then I would always be thinking 'what if we had tried it and it worked?' I feel like it's gone really well but I won't really know anything until June. I could feel fine and then they say it's not really worked for me. I think if they had to remove my bladder then I would accept it now because at least we've tried."
Abbie is now hoping to raise awareness of bladder cancer and the symptoms around it - because most new cases are diagnosed in those aged 60 and above. She's even joined a Facebook support group - but says she is the youngest person on the page as most people are in the sixties.
Abbie said: "When I was diagnosed, the nurse was really shocked because it's really rare - I think I was the youngest person who she helps treat. I think it's more common in people over the age of 60 and in men. I joined a group on Facebook for people who have got it, there's a few people in their thirties but I must be the youngest person on there."
"A woman, who I don't know, messaged me on Facebook and thanked me for spreading awareness because she had the exact same symptoms. She had been looking for someone who has been through the same thing as me and had found my story."
Abbie's friends are running the Great Manchester 10k in May to raise money for Action Bladder Cancer UK and to help support Abbie.
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Visit the GoFundMe page to donate.
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