STUDENT Lydia Page went to the doctor time and time again with classic bowel cancer symptoms, only to be told she had indigestion.
By the time she was diagnosed, it was too late and the cancer had spread. Lydia died aged just 23.
Now her mum, Susan, is on a mission to spread the word that young people DO get bowel cancer and that all medical professionals need to be on the lookout for tell-tale symptoms.
Susan, from Battersea, is also supporting Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life in London, which raises money for life-saving research.
Susan, 68, said: “Lydia’s story is an important example of how we need to be more aware – not just the public but medical professionals too.
“I was told Lydia’s age had been against her – they didn’t test people of her age for bowel cancer. And it’s still happening – others are dying too young.
“Dame Deborah James – Bowelbabe – did an amazing job to raise awareness – but it’s still happening. We all have to do more to stop it.”
Lydia was studying photography at Nottingham Trent University and was on her first summer break when she began to experience a niggling pain in her right side.
At the start of her second year, she went to see the campus GP who told her she had indigestion.
Susan said: “This went on for weeks and months. Lydia went back and forth to the GP and sometimes A&E, but her bleeding was dismissed as taking too many pain killers.”
Eventually, Lydia was admitted to hospital and a scan picked up ‘speckled tumours’ on her liver.
“Still no-one mentioned cancer and Lydia was discharged with lots of medication and morphine and told the test results would be sent to her GP,” said Susan.
“Previous to this, my brother Colin had been diagnosed with bowel cancer. On the train home, Lydia started talking about her uncle and whether she could have cancer. I didn’t think she could as the symptoms were different.
“But then she said she was bleeding when she went to the toilet. That hit me like an electric shock. She said she’d told the hospital but they said it was her stomach bleeding, caused by the Ibuprofen.”
Weeks later, just after Christmas, Lydia’s GP delivered the devastating news that she had bowel cancer and that it was incurable.
She was referred to the Royal Free Hospital where they told her the cancer had spread to her liver and the characteristics had changed so she was also diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer.
“The doctor’s said it was incredibly rare and just bad luck. They didn’t mean it flippantly but it was very hard to hear,” said Susan.
Lydia underwent ten cycles of chemotherapy and responded well. She was able to drive again and see her friends and went back to university in September. But after a week, she was exhausted and had to return home.
She was due to have an operation in October to remove the tumour in her bowel. But surgeons couldn’t see much evidence of it – the chemotherapy had worked. However, the neuroendocrine cancer remained incurable.
The cancer spread to bones in her head and Lydia underwent five rounds of radiotherapy but then developed peritonitis. She was treated with antibiotics but the cancer continued to progress.
“Lydia was amazing – so brave,” said Susan. “She wasn’t worried about herself but me and her dad.”
The family spent Christmas together – Susan, her dad Geoffrey, and brothers Ben, Sam and Tom – and Lydia died on 8th January 2012.
“I think about Lydia every day. The trauma goes after three years but you are left with a terrible guilt – how could this happen to someone so young?” said Susan.
Susan’s brother died six months later, aged 69, but tests found no genetic link.
Susan took 16 months out from her teaching role at South Thames College to look after Lydia and now wants to educate people about bowel cancer.
“People talk about a cure for cancer, but it’s not that simple. There are hundreds of types of cancer and they all need different treatments.
“But research is what is going to make the difference – that’s why I’m supporting Race for Life and why I make regular donations to Cancer Research UK.”
Susan took part in Hyde Park Race for Life with Lydia, and has spoke at the Croydon even after her death.
Susan said Lydia had been ‘terribly let down’ by the medical professionals she saw in the early days of her illness and doesn’t want other young people to suffer the same way.
“I’d say to all young people – if you are worried about something, don’t be embarrassed, go to your GP. If you’re not happy with your treatment, go again, and take someone else with you, or ask for a second opinion. And tell them you want further tests. You know your own body – you have to stand up for yourself.”
Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, in partnership with headline sponsor Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, is an inspiring series of 3k, 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy and Pretty Muddy Kids events which raise millions of pounds every year to help beat cancer by funding crucial research.
Since the first Race for Life in 1994, more than £940m has been raised for life-saving research and participants taking part this year will receive an exclusive medal to mark 30 years.
Every year around 36,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in London* and one in two people in the UK born after 1960 will get cancer in their lifetime.** Money raised at Race for Life enables scientists to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer - helping to save more lives.
The first Race for Life event was held in Battersea, London, in 1994, where 750 participants raised £48,000. It was so successful that it was extended to six venues across the UK the following year. Today around 450 Race for Life events are held every year. Race for Life is today open to everyone.
Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for London, Lynn Daly, said: “We’re very grateful to Susan for sharing Lydia’s moving story, and her support for Race for Life. Sadly, cancer affects all of us in some way so we’d love Londoners to come and join us raise more money for life-saving research.
“Our participants come from different backgrounds, with different stories, but with one thing in common – the determination to help beat cancer. Whether people are living with cancer, taking part in honour of or in memory of a loved one with cancer, or signing up to protect their own children’s future, everyone has a reason to Race for Life.
“We’ve seen survival rates in the UK double in the last forty years thanks to the tireless efforts of researchers, but this can only happen with the continued support of fundraisers up and down the country.
“Together we can bring about a future free from the fear of cancer. So we’re asking Londoners: Who will you Race for?”
Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, in partnership with headline sponsor Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, raises funds for world-class research to help beat 200 types of cancer – including bowel cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, testicular cancer, brain cancer, children’s cancers and leukaemia.
