I though I had constipation - then found out it was cancer

But the 45-year-old from Swindon, who was diagnosed in November, says Macmillan nurses have helped her through the distressing first few months of her illness.

Her only complaint is there are not enough of them.

Now she is backing the appeal to ensure Macmillan nurses have the funds to continue their work, and help other cancer sufferers as they battle against the disease.

Teresa had known something was wrong long before cancer was detected.

She explained: "From July last summer I was having trouble going to the toilet.

"Basically I hadn't had a bowel movement for five months - from mid-summer until I went into hospital for an operation in November.

"My stomach was swelling so badly I was frightened to eat. In the end I was eating and making myself sick because the food had nowhere else to come out.

"Doctors didn't know what was wrong. On November 22 they did a laparotomy - a procedure whereby my abdomen was opened up - and found the cancer."

Teresa had tumours on both her ovaries. One was four centimetres wide while the other measured two-and-a-half centimetres. She also had secondary cancer in the bowel.

As a result surgeons performed a colostomy, where an incision is made into the colon creating an artificial opening or stoma to the exterior of the abdomen.

If the operation hadn't been performed, Teresa was told she would have been dead by Christmas.

She has now had four seven-hour chemotherapy sessions in an attempt to shrink the cancer. The treatment every three weeks leaves her tired, nauseous and has caused her hair to fall out.

Teresa said: "I went in to hospital thinking I had constipation. When I came round I had a colostomy bag and was told I had cancer. I just cried my eyes out.

"I was shown how to clean the bag and once I'd learnt it I was on my own.

"I came out of hospital after a week absolutely terrified that someone might bump into my side where it's attached.

"I briefly saw a Macmillan nurse at Princess Margaret Hospital just after I was first diagnosed and now Judith Lindsay, a nurse based at Prospect, comes to see me at home.

"She's excellent and helps me with all sorts of things. I had moved in to my house only a couple of weeks before the operation so there was so much to sort out and she helped me get through it all.

"I lost my job due to the illness so she has shown me how to fill in forms to claim benefit.

"It's also nice to have someone just to talk to. She doesn't rush her visits and makes sure I'm happy before leaving me."

Teresa says she has been comforted by her 20-year-old daughter Louise, who is studying medicine at Chichester University.

"Louise has been very helpful in explaining things to me," she said.

"It was her idea that I went back to the hospital and pushed for an operation even though tests hadn't initially come up with the cancer.

"She comes home every weekend, which is lovely. I have three brothers and three sisters, who live in Swindon and they have been brilliant. I'm lucky to have them.

"I can't do shopping on my own anymore because I get so tired due to the chemotherapy. The cancer itself doesn't hurt, it's the effects of the treatment that knocks you out.

"My scar hasn't healed too well after the laparotomy.

"I can't sneeze without being in pain. In May the surgeons will know whether they have to perform a full hysterectomy and try to remove the bowel. I don't know at this stage what's going to happen.

"I try not to think about the future too much.

"I've decided that if the treatment won't get rid of the cancer I will stop having the sessions.

"I want to be able to live properly for whatever time I have left. I can't even walk down to the shops anymore and it's all down to the chemo.

"I never thought I'd feel that way but I want to be able to enjoy my life however long it turns out to be."

Teresa added: "The appeal is a very worthy cause. We need more Macmillan nurses in Swindon.

"They are so vital in helping people deal with this disease."

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