'My dodgy tummy turned out to be a sign of incurable cancer'

A mum-of-two who thought she had coeliac disease has told of her shock at finding out her stomach troubles were a sign of incurable cancer. Sarah Wright, 49, visited her GP in August 2021 after suffering from diarrhoea which was affecting her life, making it hard to enjoy hobbies such as running.

Over four months, medics tried to get to the bottom of her discomfort by tracking her symptoms and testing her blood. Sarah said: "My dodgy tummy was really affecting my life. I constantly needed the loo and it was interrupting my running. I'd have to take Imodium before doing any sport. But I never imagined I had anything more sinister. Apart from the tummy upset, I was pretty fit and healthy.

"I ran three times a week, played hockey twice a week and had even run Paris Marathon."

IT director Sarah became convinced she had coeliac disease, an autoimmune condition where a person's immune system attacks their tissues when they eat gluten.

She had a family history of the condition, so cut gluten out of her diet and her symptoms appeared to improve.

But after her GP ordered blood tests, Sarah was given the shocking news that she had a type of blood cancer, myeloma.

Sarah said: "I was working from home when I got the call. When the GP said it was likely I had myeloma, I had no idea what it was but I started Googling and in that moment my whole world stopped. I couldn't believe I was being told I had an incurable cancer."

Myeloma is an incurable blood cancer that occurs in the bone marrow and affects around 33,000 people in the UK.

Common symptoms include back and rib pain, fatigue and peripheral neuropathy (pins and needles).

Broken bones are a common symptom because the cancer affects the part of the bone marrow that maintains and repairs bones.

Sarah, who is mum to Millie, 19 and Abbie, 21, had chemotherapy in January 2022 followed by a stem cell transplant at Nottingham City Hospital a month later.

Her cancer is currently undetectable and she has regular blood tests and chemotherapy medication to keep the disease at bay.

Sarah is sharing her experience to mark Myeloma Awareness Week and encourage anyone with unusual or vague symptoms to seek help.

Over a third of people with myeloma attend at least three appointments at their GP practice before getting a diagnosis, and around a quarter have to wait more than 10 months before they are diagnosed.

Sarah said: "Too often I hear about people who are diagnosed late and then they are worse affected or they have to have more intensive treatment.

"I knew something in my body wasn't right and if I hadn't followed my gut I would never have been diagnosed with myeloma.

"Even though it was a huge shock, catching it early has made a big difference. Even though I know the cancer will come back at some point and I will need more treatment it isn't stopping me doing things and I am going to live my life to the full.

"I want to encourage everyone to be vigilant about any unusual symptoms they have and see your GP - it could save your life."

Dr Sophie Castell, chief executive of Myeloma UK, said: "You wouldn't ignore a red light on the road or a caution sign on a freshly-mopped floor, so why ignore the warning signs that your body sends you?

"Myeloma has one of the longest times to diagnosis of any cancer. One of the biggest barriers remains identifying and piecing together the symptoms quickly and before too much damage is done.

"The most important thing you can do is get your symptoms checked. We know that myeloma can be difficult to diagnose, so bring the Myeloma UK Symptom Translator with you to the GP, ask for answers and get to the bottom of what's causing your pain, infections or fatigue.

"Know the warning signs, put your health first and help us catch myeloma earlier."