“Cancer, you’ve picked the wrong person”: Heulwen’s Story

A hiatus hernia?

“It was September 2022 that I started getting indigestion and the sensation during meals that the food would get stuck, but it would be fine after a while. My husband had a hiatus hernia and the symptoms I was experiencing were similar to his and I tried his medication – lansoprazole, and that helped significantly, so I thought I had a hiatus hernia.

I went to my GP to explain my symptoms and he said it was likely that I had a hiatus hernia, but he couldn’t explain the sensation of food getting stuck. I was generally well and hadn’t lost any weight and was fit and active, so my GP referred me to the hospital where I was given an endoscopy. 

At the time all this was happening, my mother was at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend and had just come out of intensive care - I also needed to drive to Porthcawl to see my father, who was also unwell, after the endoscopy, so I had it without sedation. It was a very difficult time for us all  with everything that was going on and my family and I were under a lot of pressure.”

Oesophageal cancer

Heulwen’s endoscopy revealed that she did in fact have a hiatus hernia, but also that she had a tumour which was oesophageal cancer.

“I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer on 11 November 2022 at the Heath Hospital in Cardiff – it was a few weeks after the Queen died. I’d been experiencing mild indigestion and difficulty swallowing food for a few months. 

I worked as a clinical nurse specialising in paediatric dermatology, and it seems that every Friday since 2020 I’d been having hiccups after lunch because we were rushing to eat our sandwiches in between clinics, but that was intermittent and on reflection that may have been an early sign, but I didn’t feel unwell at the time."

“Cancer, you’ve picked the wrong person”

“As soon as I had the endoscopy – I was still on the table in fact and I could see the screen, I was told immediately that I had cancer. It felt unreal. I’m very much a ‘get on with it’ kind of person and I said "cancer, you’ve picked the wrong person!". 

It was the immediate practicalities of supporting my family – my parents were in their 80s, my children, and that was the first thing that came to my mind – that and getting my husband to come to support me. So, there I was on the table and I could see the cancer on the screen. I could see straight away that it was too big to be a polyp.”

Heulwen was shocked by the diagnosis as she didn’t fit the usual criteria for someone who would be diagnosed with oesophageal cancer as she was female, had never smoked and only drank in moderation. But the practicalities of her situation kicked in and Heulwen immediately began organising her family.

Telling my family

“The specialist nurse was amazing – it was 5.00pm on a Friday when I was diagnosed and straight away there was talk of treatment options and I was rushed straight away for a CT scan and then we went home. 

My son was in the house and we told him and then we had to ring my daughter in Warwick to give her the news - my husband then drove over to pick her up and bring her home. 

I took my son with me to the Princess of Wales Hospital to tell my mother that something had been found and I’d need some treatment and then drove to Porthcawl to leave my son there to support my father who was still unwell.

Six weeks later on 9 January, my treatment began and I was receiving chemoradiation – a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for five weeks.

Monday was four hours of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were radiotherapy; Saturday was my day off and Sunday was testing my blood before Monday when the treatment would start again.”

I’ve never felt so loved

Despite the shock of being diagnosed with cancer and the ordeal of undergoing major, life-changing surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy and losing four stones in weight, Heulwen says the overwhelming memory she has of her cancer experience is a positive one.

“I’ve never felt so loved - that’s the endearing memory I have of my experience with cancer, and I’ve also met some incredible people including fellow patients who are now my friends for life. We supported each other on our journeys. 

I’m also incredibly grateful to my surgeon who used her skills to save my life. She knew the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. It was in one of my lymph nodes, but she took out 47 of them – no messing – she just got on with it and I have so much respect for her and my oncologist, and I owe my life to them.”