Why the year I got cancer was one of the best of my life

WHEN Sandhy Robinson-Jones noticed a lump on her groin, she never imagined it was a sign of cancer.

The 46-year-old from Alphington, Exeter, was on holiday in the Gambia and thought the 5cm lump might be a hernia brought on by a recent vomiting bug.

But the freelance graphic designer, who is normally full of energy, had also started to feel unusually tired.

She said: "I wasn't tired in the way where when you sleep you feel better, but tired where you are drained of energy, which isn't like me at all."

And Sandhy, who usually has a flat stomach, had felt constantly bloated since she had worked away from home in Portugal shortly before.

So, in January 2008, when she returned from another period of work in Portugal, she went to see a doctor, who sent her for an ultrasound scan.

The scan revealed a large cyst on one of Sandhy's ovaries, which was believed to be malignant.

Three weeks later she underwent a CAT scan and biopsy. The biopsy confirmed she had ovarian cancer, which had started to spread to her bowel.

Thinking about the cancerous growth inside her made Sandhy feel nervous.

She said: "The first thing I wanted to know was, 'When are you going to do the hysterectomy?' I was thinking about how to find a control mechanism, trying to deal with the fact I was going to have massive surgery and then chemotherapy."

Sandhy was relieved when she had a full hysterectomy and an oophorectomy — a total removal of the ovaries. "That was great," she said. "They had got it out. You do go straight into the menopause, which is a bit startling. But you don't really think about that because you are so concerned that the next stop is chemotherapy, and you're wondering what's going to happen with that."

Sandhy had six bouts of chemotherapy three weeks apart, which made her feel very fatigued. But she said the worst side effect of the treatment was losing her thick, curly hair.

She said: "Washing my hair in the bath one day, it started falling out in ringlets. I was just sitting in the middle of all this hair. It was horrible."

Sandhy asked her husband Andrew to shave her head.

Before losing her hair, she had been given two NHS wigs and the staff in the wig department at Dingles, now House of Fraser, had shown her how to fit them properly.

Sandhy found comfort in talking to other sufferers, through two ovarian cancer charity groups. She joined the Ovacome group and the Eve Appeal group on Facebook and met a number of other women with ovarian cancer. Talking to others who knew what she was going through really helped.

"When I didn't want to see anyone, I could still talk to people," she said.

Sandhy found other ways to cope. She asked for her medical records so she could understand what was happening to her and, on the day she was diagnosed, started an internet blog about her experience, which she updates regularly.

She was also supported by family and friends.

"My family has been fantastic," she said.

"My friends from Portugal came over to make me dinner. People have been amazing."

Sandhy has not stopped working. In 2008, she worked every day and used her holiday for the days when she had chemotherapy. She said: "I would advise everyone if they can to work through it.

"You have got to be normal. It helps you to cope, I think. It makes you interact and think about other things instead of dwelling on your problems."

In July, Sandhy finished her chemotherapy.

She said: "It took a month for my hair to start growing back. Now I have 4cm of hair growth."

For the first year after her treatment ended, Sandhy must have a check-up every three months. After that, she must then go for tests every six months until the five-year remission period is up.

No cancer was found at her first check-up in October, and she is due to have another check-up this month.

She said that, if women are concerned, they should go to their GP as soon as possible.

"Ovarian cancer was something I didn't know about. I think the majority of women don't," she said.

"Being diagnosed is complicated because the symptoms, like a bloated stomach or extreme tiredness, can be from other things."

But Sandhy has not allowed her illness to get her down.

She said: "It's been one of the best years of my life in a way, because it has made me realise what's important."

If you would like to read Sandhy's blog, visit http://sandhysown.blogspot.com.