Doctors thought I had acid reflux

A cancer-stricken mother given six months to live has heartbreakingly told of her fears that her daughter 'will forget me'.

Sophie Louise Wright, 34, from Torquay, Devon, was at one point told her tell-tale sickness symptom could be down to acid reflux or a stomach ulcer. 

Her world was turned upside down when doctors found she actually had terminal bowel cancer. 

Speaking of her agonising diagnosis, Ms Wright, whose girl is three, said: 'When my daughter is mentioned or I think about the time I have left with her, I cannot contain my emotions.

'My biggest fear is not being around to watch her grow up.

Sophie Louise Wright, 34, from Torquay, Devon, was at one point told her tell-tale sickness symptom could be down to acid reflux or a stomach ulcer

'She’s nearly four and I don’t think she’ll remember much of her life at this stage, so I’m worried she’ll forget me.

'I don’t want anybody to replace me. I just want to be her mum forever.'

She added: 'I’d happily live with cancer destroying my life forever if it meant I got to be with her.

'No one my age should be fighting cancer and worrying about when our time will be up.'

Ms Wright, who works as a medical secretary, had previously undergone surgery to remove polyps – small growths on the lining of the large intestine.

Doctors were alerted after she began bleeding from her bottom, a tell-tale symptom.

The mum has been given just six months to live and fears her daughter won't remember her 

Ms Wright, pictured with her fiancé Lewis, 35, had previously undergone surgery to remove polyps – tissue growth – from her bowel and thought her 'debilitating' symptoms were as a result of this

She underwent polyp removal in May 2023.

After Ms Wright struggled with pain under her ribs and vomiting, she assumed it was the usual after affects of getting polyps removed, which she claims she was told can take 12 weeks to recover from. 

As well as nausea, she also battled bloating.

A biopsy taken at the time of her removal came back negative that summer, but Ms Wright had a gut feeling something was wrong.

She said: 'I thought perhaps the polyps had spread across my body but I didn't think it was cancer. 

'I gradually became sicker, more tired, losing weight and finding life hard. 

'I had to cancel all plans with friends and family as I couldn't eat food and I was left housebound. 

'It made my relationship with my daughter and fiancé harder, too, as I gave up. 

'My life was totally ruined and I questioned whether there was something mentally wrong with me, as all my results came back clear.' 

The mum has been diagnosed with metastatic lower GI adenocarcinoma cancer in her bowel which has spread to her liver and spine

She is currently receiving chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy, which she claims worsened her symptoms, including ulcers and numbness in her feet

Ms Wright claims she was given anti-sickness tablets and told it was likely due to acid reflux or a stomach ulcer, until she underwent a series of blood tests, CT and MRI scans, as well as a liver biopsy. 

She was then, in October, diagnosed with bowel cancer, which has since spread to her liver and spine.

Without treatment, doctors estimate she only has six months left. 

Ms Wright is currently receiving chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy.

Nothing else is available for her in the UK, she claims.  

She has discovered another treatment in Germany which aims to shrink the tumours through delivering chemotherapy directly into the liver, rather than the entire body, until they disappear completely.

Ms Wright and her fiancé Lewis, 35, are fundraising for this treatment raising £16,531 out of the £25,000 needed so far

WHAT IS BOWEL CANCER?

Bowel cancer is found anywhere in the large bowel, which includes the colon and rectum. 

Around 43,000 Brits are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year.

Symptoms include:

• Changes in your poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you
• Needing to poo more or less often than usual for you
• Blood in your poo, which may look red or black
• Bleeding from your bottom
• Often feeling like you need to poo, even if you've just been to the toilet
• Tummy pain
• A lump in your tummy
• Bloating
• Losing weight without trying
• Feeling very tired for no reason

Source: NHS and Cancer Research UK  

But it comes at an eye-watering £3,300 cost per pop, with an estimated 10 sessions needed to achieve these results. 

Ms Wright and her fiancé Lewis, 35, are fundraising for this treatment. 

Bowel Cancer, which is one of the most common types of cancer in the UK, can also be known as colorectal cancer. 

Tumours can be found anywhere in the bowel or rectum.

Around 43,000 Britons are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, Cancer Research UK says. 

Tell-tale symptoms include bleeding from your bottom, bloating, losing weight without trying, tummy pain and changes in poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you. 

Advanced bowel cancer, also called metastatic cancer, is a cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver, the lungs or the lymph nodes.

It comes as scientists are scrambling to find the cause of a mystery cancer 'epidemic' which is striking under-50s.

Kate Middleton's shock diagnosis earlier this year shone a light on the startling trend, with top doctors claiming it is a worldwide problem.

Despite years of research, researchers are baffled as to what is behind the problem. 

Increased awareness thanks to the likes of Dame Deborah James, who died from bowel cancer aged 40 in 2022, and improved diagnosis methods are thought to have played a role.

One surgeon claimed an yet-to-be discovered factor could be to blame. 

Professor Andrew Beggs, a consultant colorectal surgeon and a senior clinical fellow at the University of Birmingham, said: 'There might be an unknown environmental factor that we haven’t discovered, despite extensive research.'

He added: 'Young onset cancer is by no means rare.

'I run a clinic for early-onset cancer in adults and we're seeing more and more people in their 40s with cancer.'

He added other factors that could also be contributing to the rise are better cancer detection methods, awareness of symptoms and better screening of genetic conditions that increase cancer risk, like the BRCA gene like Angelina Jolie has.

Bowel cancer is now the third most common type of the disease – and experts say our junk food-laden diets are to blame.

More than 41,000 patients were diagnosed with the disease in 2021 in England.

It has overtaken lung for the first time since records began in 1995.

Only breast (almost 50,000) and prostate (43,000) sicken more.