Ali

In 2018 my mum was diagnosed with Oesophageal Cancer, 12 weeks later she passed away, aged 68. We were all absolutely devastated. 

Looking back we should have picked up on the signs and made her go to the doctors sooner - she was struggling to swallow, being sick after eating and losing weight (although she had been on a diet for months too). When we mentioned anything she just fobbed us off. We believed that she knew better than us, she had been a nurse after all… she had worked in oncology and at a local hospice that predominantly provides end of life care so she would know, wouldn’t she?? Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t… we didn’t ask to be honest as our priority was supporting her through her treatment.

Nearly 4 years later I had a couple of incidents where I was struggling to swallow bread and even though I was being very British about it and thought it was probably nothing, I was determined not to ignore the symptoms like Mum did and called my GP. They were great and referred me for an endoscopy. Within a week I received a call from the hospital and was booked in within days. It was a bit overwhelming as I took mum to the hospital for her endoscopy and was with her when they told her that they could see something (although still undiagnosed).

The endoscopy was the worst experience ever as I opted for the throat spray - big mistake and never to be repeated!  I was diagnosed with Barrett’s Oesophagus 8cm. I take 40mg of omeprazole daily and count myself lucky that I don’t really suffer on a daily basis with any acid reflux symptoms as it’s silent - perhaps a blessing and a curse. It is scary living with this condition, especially with mums cancer. I just hope that the medication and lifestyle changes are doing their thing because it’s not something you can see and you juthave to wait for your next endoscopy to know you’re ok. There have been moments when I’ve worried a bit too much and catastrophised about it all, but mostly I’m just grateful that I have been diagnosed and am being monitored. I have an annual call with my consultant and an endoscopy every 3 years - my next one will be 2026 and I can’t wait, just to get some peace of mind.

My Nan died when she was 69, Mum was 68 and I’m really hoping to go above and beyond both of them!