‘I mistook cancer signs for the menopause’

Dawn Willis from Canterbury, had been experiencing bleeding for around a year, mistaking it for a symptom of the menopause. Little did she know a tumour was growing in her womb, and the bleeding was a symptom of cancer.

Dawn said: “So much happens to your body during the menopause that I thought the bleeding was normal, but then my belly became swollen and my family advised me to get checked out. I’m really glad they did because I was diagnosed with advanced womb cancer.

“I’m so angry with myself for ignoring it. If I had waited even just a couple more months I don’t think I’d be here today. I’m always the first one to advise people to see a doctor so I don’t know why I left it for so long.

“After my diagnosis all I could say to the staff was to keep me alive, do whatever it takes. I love my life, my husband and I have a house in Spain, we have otherwise had an easy life and so I wasn’t ready to go anywhere. Cancer wasn’t going to beat me.

“I had a fear of hospitals before having cancer, so I was really anxious about needing to go regularly but I very quickly got over it. The only thing I felt was safe and reassured that they were going to fix me.

“A large part of that came from the fact that the team were amazing, especially my consultant Dr Kannon Nathan and my nurse Vicky Morgan. They helped me stay positive and the rest of the team were really uplifting, I have nothing but positive things to say about them.”

After a year of various treatments, Dawn is proudly cancer-free. She suffered from a perforated bowel due to the radiation damage and lives with a stoma, which she is hoping will soon get reversed, but otherwise she’s back to making the most of life.

She said: “I’m so grateful to the team for saving me and for making my cancer journey a positive one.

“My advice to everyone is that if something isn’t right, don’t leave it. Visit your GP and get yourself checked out.”

For more information about womb cancer please visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/womb-cancer/symptoms/. If you are experiencing symptoms please visit your GP.