A mum has revealed how she received a heartbreaking cancer diagnosis after doctors initially attributed her heartburn and bloating to her age.
Donna Taylor, 45, had battled exhaustion and loss of appetite during her holiday in Turkey and Cornwall last summer.
The mother-of-two had experienced heartburn, reflux and bloating for 18 months previously, but attributed the symptoms to her age and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
But after returning from her vacation with her children, she was stuck in bed for three days due to illness.
Donna and her doctor initially thought it was due to stress, but when her symptoms persisted, they referred her to a cancer pathway.
She had an emergency endoscopy and CT scan which found a huge mass in her abdomen.
The 45-year-old then underwent laparoscopy and several biopsies and was diagnosed with stomach cancer in December 2023.
Donna Taylor (pictured), 45, had battled exhaustion and loss of appetite while on holiday in Turkey and Cornwall last summer.
The 45-year-old woman then underwent laparoscopy and several biopsies and was diagnosed with stomach cancer in December 2023. Pictured: Donna’s stomach after surgery.
The mother-of-two had experienced heartburn, reflux and bloating for 18 months previously, but attributed the symptoms to her age and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
He was told that the cancer had spread to the peritoneum (a membrane that surrounds the abdominal organs) and is now inoperable.
Donna, who worked in children’s services for ten years, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, said: “It was heartbreaking. Cancer takes so much from you. It has tried to take so much from me but it has given so much to me.
‘It’s about living with cancer. My time is so valuable. There is a richness in my life.’
Donna started having heartburn and reflux in early 2022 and said: “I was going through two bottles of Gaviscon a week.”
But the doctor initially attributed it to his age and wasn’t worried.
In August of last year he went on vacation with the family and began to notice a loss of appetite.
She said: ‘I went from eating three meals to two to one. I felt really bloated. I stopped wearing a bra for a year; It was really uncomfortable.
“I felt more exhausted than anything else I had ever experienced. I started to lose weight. It was falling off.’
After returning from her vacation, Donna was attacked by a bug and said she was “in bed for three days.”
Donna started having heartburn and reflux in early 2022, but the doctor initially attributed it to her age and was not concerned.
He added: “I thought ‘this is not right’.”
Donna continued to feel “really unwell” and at a follow-up appointment with her GP in November 2023 she was referred and taken for an emergency endoscopy.
A subsequent CT scan confirmed a cancerous mass in his stomach.
Donna said: “I didn’t think for a second they were going to tell me I had stomach cancer.”
He then had to wait to see the extent of his cancer and underwent laparoscopy and biopsies.
The mother-of-two said: “It’s devastating.” You are in no man’s land. You don’t know what you’re facing.
‘I entered a parallel universe. The life before November… that life was gone.
In December, Donna was told the cancer had spread and was inoperable.
She had a stent placed in her stomach in January 2024 to help her digest food and medications before starting chemotherapy at the end of the month.
She had a stent placed in her stomach in January 2024 to help her digest food and medications before starting chemotherapy at the end of the month.
Donna said: ‘It’s been intense and exhausting. The chemotherapy is working. It is shrinking the tumor.
“I won’t have surgery because it’s spreading.” Chemotherapy is about me living a quality of life with cancer.”
Donna finishes her sixth cycle in June and will then have a break to enjoy the summer with her children. She will then have regular scans to check for tumor growth.
She said: “I’ll just be hoping and praying that he continues to behave.”
Donna has stayed positive by setting up her charity Dee’s Tummy Cancer Charity in partnership with Weston Park Cancer Charity and Cavendish Cancer Care.
It has already raised £16.5k through your fundraising and is excited for her upcoming ‘All that Glitters Charity Disco’ event in June, which she hopes will become an annual event.
She said: ‘I want it to be a legacy. Whatever happens to me, I want this to become a legacy.”
