Vicky's story....

'In August 2021, I was enjoying my summer holiday from Millfield Prep and I ended up with severe stomach pain, having been in a car accident a couple of weeks earlier. After going to A&E and then the doctor, I was refereed back to A&E and admitted to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. The doctors originally thought I had appendicitis, which I did have but there were concerns
as the appendicitis was at the wrong end of the appendix, (who knew that was a thing) and my scans had shown a thickening of the lining which was unusual and concerning.

After a week in hospital, I was on the mend from the appendicitis and on the emergency wait list for a colonoscopy. On 2nd September when I should have been catching up with my fellow colleagues at inset day and preparing for another fabulous term ahead, I had the colonoscopy and heard the words no one every wants to hear, unfortunately we have found a lump and it's confirmed to be cancer. At this point that was all we knew as I needed more scans to see the extent of the cancer and biopsies went to the lab.

PET scans were had in October and we then received the news that ripped our world further apart, I was at stage 4 already. We were told that with no intervention, I wouldn't make it to our second wedding anniversary in August 2022. We were in a huge state of shock as I'd never had any symptoms to show I was unwell and my husband Darren, who serves in the military, was in the middle of a 9 month would tour and deployed out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The next few weeks went in a blur. We had options talked about, chemotherapy in the form of IV and oral formation started and we were given the news that if the cancer shrank, there was a possibility that I could have surgery at the specialist cancer hospital in Basingstoke. Here I would have one of the top doctors in Europe to perform the surgery. Only 2 hospitals in the U.K. performed the surgery that I required.

Fortunately after the chemotherapy, I had a laparoscopy operation in Basingstoke where they confirmed they could do the major surgery. Only 350 people are offered this operation per year and the uptake is less than 50% from those who are approved, as it is so gruelling. I spent 10 hours on the operating table, they removed the cancer in the bowel along with my appendix, gall bladder and ovaries. I had the greater omentum stripped along with the peritumneon, and lymph nodes were also removed. I had hipec therapy during the operation which is a newer procedure in the UK. This resulted in a 20 inch scar through my abdomen and a 13 night stay in hospital. This was a quick recovery as 25 nights is average.

Once I was back in Exeter, I was refereed back to my oncologist here. Chemotherapy started again once I was strong enough in the form of oral tablets and I underwent another 8 cycles which finished in October 2022. My latest scans have shown that I am not in the clear at the moment so we have restarted IV chemotherapy which I have every fortnight. This results in 6 hours in hospital and then you return home with a pump that filtrates your body with another 48 hours of chemotherapy, before they detach you from the meds.'

Forces Cancer Charity has provided Vicky and Darren with support in their home town of Exeter. Every penny raised will go directly to the charity to help other families going through a similar journey as they are.

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