AN OLDBURY grandmother who threw two bowel cancer screening kits in the bin before
being diagnosed with an advanced form of the disease has welcomed a £5.5 million
investment in research.
Karen Stephens says she almost lost her life through ‘pride and embarrassment’ after
refusing to visit the doctor with tummy cramps and diarrhoea. She was diagnosed with stage
three bowel cancer in November 2023 and put on a type of immunotherapy, normally only
used for womb cancer.
Now the mum of four, who has 11 grandchildren, has welcomed the announcement of a £5.5
million grant from Cancer Research UK and partners to find kinder, better treatments for
people living with bowel cancer.
being diagnosed with an advanced form of the disease has welcomed a £5.5 million
investment in research.
Karen Stephens says she almost lost her life through ‘pride and embarrassment’ after
refusing to visit the doctor with tummy cramps and diarrhoea. She was diagnosed with stage
three bowel cancer in November 2023 and put on a type of immunotherapy, normally only
used for womb cancer.
Now the mum of four, who has 11 grandchildren, has welcomed the announcement of a £5.5
million grant from Cancer Research UK and partners to find kinder, better treatments for
people living with bowel cancer.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:01Okay, Karen, so just explain what happened, what, you know, what you did.
00:05Right, back in 2023, round about the end of September, beginning of October,
00:13I had what I thought was a tummy bug and nausea.
00:19I had the diarrhoea, I did have the diarrhoea, but I had no vomiting, it was just nausea.
00:24Yeah.
00:24And then I started having pains in my tummy.
00:29Yeah.
00:30And I can only describe them as cramping, and it was mainly towards the right-hand side.
00:38Mm.
00:39And then underneath, it was like, if a woman's watching this or listening, early labour pains.
00:46That's the only way I can describe them.
00:48Yeah.
00:48So anyway, I was just ignoring them, carried on smoking, ignoring the pains, thinking it'll go away.
00:56The diarrhoea stopped, but the nausea never left me.
01:00Right.
01:01When I was eating, I was getting uncomfortable, and about half an hour, a hour later, I'd have pain, severe pain in my tummy.
01:12Right.
01:12So I stopped eating.
01:15So henceforth, I was starting to lose weight.
01:17Yeah.
01:18That still didn't faze me to go to the doctors.
01:20My daughter-in-law, who is a palliative care nurse, Kirsty Nolan, she kept on to me.
01:26When are you going to let me take it to the doctors?
01:30Yeah.
01:31And I was saying, no, it'll clear up, it'll clear up, because I honestly did not think I would have bowel cancer.
01:37So in between this, I had two bowel cancer tests, and I threw them both away.
01:48Really?
01:49One because of pride, and one because of embarrassment.
01:53Yeah.
01:54Do you think there was an element of fear as well?
01:58No.
01:58Really?
01:59No, no, no, no, no, no.
02:01I honestly thought I wouldn't have bowel cancer.
02:03Right.
02:03Right.
02:04I just didn't want to go through the rigmarole of it all.
02:07No.
02:07If I was called to the hospital.
02:09Yeah.
02:09And you've got to have done what you've got to have done.
02:11So it was like the inconvenience, really.
02:13Yeah.
02:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:14How deeply I regret that, because my cancer would not have got so far as what it did do.
02:25I went to stage three.
02:27Yeah.
02:28Went into my lymph nodes.
02:34They thought it was attached to the dudene or something underneath the...
02:39Yeah.
02:40So anyway, so we'll go back.
02:43So I went to the doctor's.
02:44I did go to the doctor's ride.
02:47They hadn't got a clue what it was.
02:49They put it down to tummy ache, which I had to give a little laugh at.
02:52Yeah.
02:53So I think I went back to the doctor's.
02:55My daughter-in-law and my daughter took me back to the doctor's about four, five times,
02:59if I can recall that.
03:01Yeah.
03:01In between that, I didn't realise that they'd sent off for a bowel screening kit for me again.
03:08Yeah.
03:09I didn't know that.
03:09So I did do it.
03:12So that was the third one that you did do?
03:14That was the third one.
03:15Yeah.
03:16So my daughter-in-law said, I think you need to do this.
03:20So I did do it.
03:22Right.
03:23Did I have suspicions in my mind?
03:25I'm not quite sure.
03:27Mm.
03:27So not long after, um, I was sent for, um, Mr. Stamatio of the, um, who did my operation
03:38at Stodial Hospital.
03:40Mm.
03:40And there they told me, uh, the outcome.
03:44Right.
03:45Um, stage three advanced, um, intellectual cancer on the right-hand side, which the right-hand
03:53side tumour is so different to the left-hand side.
03:58Yeah.
03:58Because the right side, it's a flatter, it's a flatter mass.
04:04Yeah.
04:04Yeah.
04:05And it can be harder to detect.
04:06Oh, I see.
04:07Yeah.
04:08Right.
04:08So, um, so, there, for the grace of God, I was able to see him.
04:15Um, it had not spread anywhere else.
04:18Right.
04:19It had gone to the lymph nodes.
04:20Right.
04:20And as I say, they thought it might have gone to.
04:22Yeah.
04:23Yeah.
04:23Um, first it went from inoperable to operable to complete cure.
04:32Right.
04:33Um, he did say, um, that I would have to have, um, chemotherapy and radium,
04:40radiotherapy at the Queen Elizabeth.
04:43And I was a bit unsure about that.
04:45I did get a bit nervous about that.
04:47Um, because I know what ordinary, but when I say ordinary chemo, I know what chemo can do
04:52to people, but nevermind, but then it was mentioned that there is an immunotherapy type of cancer
05:00treatment and that that was going to push it for me.
05:04Um, and in me thinking as a 65 year old, um, I wouldn't get it, but they would save it, people, for a younger person.
05:15Yeah.
05:16But you know what, I've still got a heart and it's still beating and I've got a life.
05:20Yeah, absolutely.
05:20So it took about, um, I'd say roughly two weeks.
05:24And I had a phone call, uh, it had been funded.
05:28This immunotherapy had been funded for me.
05:33And I was so, so happy.
05:35I was over the moon because I didn't want to die.
05:38I wasn't ready to die.
05:39Um, so, um, went back to see Mr. Stamatio and the oncologist and, um, all together, I've got to have six months of this treatment.
05:52Yeah.
05:53Um, every three weeks, which only took half an hour.
05:56Right.
05:57Half an hour treatment.
05:58Yeah.
05:58The side effects I had from that were, um, it did start to attack my joints.
06:03Yeah.
06:03But nothing, but I couldn't cope with.
06:07Sure.
06:07And also I just got a bit more tired.
06:10That was all.
06:11So I was, I was really blessed there.
06:13Nothing.
06:14So on the third, on the fourth one, on the fourth cycle, Mr. Stamatio called me and he said, I want to, um, have another CT scan done.
06:26So the CT scan done, right, went back to see him and he went, right, Karen, he said, that's coming out.
06:33Two weeks, I'm having you in.
06:35Right.
06:36It had shrunk that much.
06:38Excellent.
06:40It was just amazing.
06:42So then from inoperable to operable, I could have the operation.
06:47That's great.
06:47So what, so what stage are you at now then?
06:49Where, where are you now?
06:50No, I am in remission.
06:53Yes.
06:53In remission.
06:55Praise God, right?
06:56Brilliant.
06:57I'm so happy.
06:58I'm totally in remission.
07:00They took the lot out and when he did, when, when, when they, when they tested it and it come back, there was no cancer at all.
07:08Brilliant.
07:08None in the lymph nodes, nothing.
07:11I was completely cured.
07:13So regarding, so regarding the, the bowel cancer testing kits, um, what would you say to people, you know, if they find themselves in the same situation?
07:23Right.
07:23If they receive a kit.
07:24Don't be a no at all like me thinking that you would never, ever get bowel cancer.
07:29Please.
07:30And I mean this from my heart to you, whoever's listening.
07:35Yes, it can be a bit embarrassing.
07:38But you know what?
07:39That embarrassment could save your life.
07:42Please do it.
07:44You owe it to yourself.
07:45You owe it to your family.
07:46You owe it to grandchildren, children, anybody.
07:49Please don't be stubborn.
07:51Lose your pride.
07:53Lose your pride.
07:54Just for five minutes.
07:56Take the pride away.
07:57Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:00Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:01Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:01Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:02Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:03Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:04Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:05Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:06Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:07Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:08Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:09Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:10Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:11Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:12Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:13Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:14Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.
08:15Go and get yourself tested before it's too late.