A bowel cancer screening test saved my life
Having worked in cancer research for most of her career, Linda Wilkinson was very aware of the signs and symptoms of the disease.
“I considered myself to be very healthy. I never smoked, I hardly drank alcohol and I was fairly fit from yoga, Pilates and walking my dog” she said.
Linda had spent many years working for the National Cancer Research Network at Cookridge Hospital, Leeds, culminating in her role as personal assistant to the Director, Matt Seymour, based at Leeds University, until her retirement in 2014.
When she took a bowel cancer screening test in June 2023, she had no reason to worry, as she felt fit and well .
It was therefore a terrible shock when she received a phone call asking her to attend for a colonoscopy. This procedure revealed several polyps and a stage 3 bowel tumour.
The endoscopist and a Macmillan nurse sat Linda and her daughter down to explain the findings and talk through the next stages. Linda can remember being overwhelmed by tears.
She recalls the process moved quickly. Within two weeks she had a CT scan and met her surgeon and oncologist. She’d chosen to have her treatment at Harrogate General Hospital, as she liked it’s small and friendly nature.
When she’d worked in cancer research, one of the clinical trials which performed well had been to combine two rounds of chemotherapy followed by surgery, finished with a further two rounds of chemotherapy again.
Linda was glad to opt for this chemo/surgery sandwich although she found chemo made her very sick and caused her to suffer from neuropathy – a nerve problem causing pain, numbness or tingling in different parts of the body.
“Everything went exactly to plan. I was given an outline of my treatment, and it went just as they had said. No changes and no delays. I can’t praise them enough” adds Linda.
By Christmas, she had completed her first rounds of chemo and had surgery to remove the tumour and eight lymph nodes. By February she had completed the second rounds of chemo and at her check up in April 2024, she was declared to be cancer free.
Now she is on a five year Looking After Me programme, which checks her blood, includes a colonoscopy and a CT scan. She also took part in a relaxation course at the Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre, Harrogate which she found useful not only for the practical advice, but also to be able to talk to others who had gone through surgery and treatment.
“ A bowel screening test saved my life, and I tell everyone I meet, to take advantage of all the cancer screening on offer,” said Linda.
To help raise awareness, Linda has become one of our Cancer Champions as part of the Cancer SMART project and is also joining Patient View, where people with lived experience of cancer care and services work alongside West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, to help improve services.
If you would like to know more about joining us, please get in touch.