Jasma's Story

When did you first start feeling unwell and when did you receive your diagnosis?

I started becoming unwell in January 2015 but I was unsure as to why – I was losing weight for no real reason, and I felt a general feeling of lethargy. I was experiencing heavy womb bleeding in February. I was 46 at the time, with two sons aged 13 and 15. By April, I was struggling to breathe and losing considerable amounts of blood. I was then sent to A&E at the Royal Surrey County Hospital where I was admitted for 2 days and had numerous blood and urine tests to try and determine the cause. Dr Benjamin Jones, (who was from the team at Charing Cross), happened to be at RSCH that evening. After all the tests he made a bet with the RSCH team that he was 99% confident that he knew what I had. The team concluded that they were 99% sure that from my symptoms that I had a specific type of womb cancer. Two days later, the 29th April 2015, I was blue lighted to the Charing Cross Hospital Oncology department where I met Dr Mark Openshaw and Dr Naveed Sarwar. I was supposed to stay for a maximum of two weeks, but it ended up being nearly 12 weeks!

My chemotherapy treatment started straight away that evening and by 1st May, after a 4.5 hour MRI scan and a scan of my womb, I was told I had cancer of the womb and lungs. I had in fact developed an 11 inch stage 4 tumour on my womb. A few days later it was confirmed the cancer had metastasised to my brain and liver. Shortly afterwards the team started the brain cancer treatment by way of intrathecal injections, the chemotherapy treatment continued.

How did you feel when you received the diagnosis?

I was surprisingly OK. The doctors said my cancer was initially treatable and I said, ‘lets get on with it’! I genuinely did not understand what was happening to my body and what was within me. I believe full heartedly that this attitude of being somewhat naively unaware of the scale of the cancer saved my life. My attitude towards my treatment was mechanical. I had a life to live and this was getting in my way. I wasn’t fazed or sad. It wasn’t ideal but I accepted the treatments without any worries.

What was your initial treatment plan and what led to your recovery?

I had numerous rounds of chemotherapy and when one set of drugs didn’t work the team at Charing Cross resolved to the next level. My pregnancy hormone level (hCG) went from 650,000 initially, to 900,000 after the first few rounds of chemotherapy and then gradually down to 1000. My hair had fallen out after 5-6 weeks of chemotherapy treatment. After many more rounds of chemotherapy, my hCG level was stuck at 1000. It was still higher than normal but a big relief that it wasn’t rising. However, by this time I had developed severe neuropathy which meant that I couldn’t stand or use my fingers properly. Eating was very difficult too. Chemotherapy treatment was taking a huge toll on my body, and I needed an alternative to get through this. The treatment alone would end up killing me.

I continued to keep a positive mindset and determined strength throughout my treatment. In November 2015 I was then offered to be put on a trial of immunotherapy, a treatment with limited prior exposure and uncertain long-term effects. I decided to go ahead and against the odds this treatment saved my life. By October 2016 I was given the all clear. Even the team at Charing Cross were surprised – they had said at the outset that without treatment I had 2 weeks to live and the fact I survived was joy to the whole team; they had saved my life! I cannot be more grateful to the research team, professors, doctors and nurses who got me through this and for saving my life.

I can now say that I am living a rich life. Spurred on by the fact that I have been given the chance to live, I will not let this life of mine down. I am stronger than I have ever been, I am fearless, I rarely say ‘I can’t’, and I want to show my children that you are never beaten; you have a choice, sometimes you have to take the harder path, but do not allow yourselves to be beaten; push yourself further than you think and anything is possible. I am now at the age of nearly 59, a yoga teacher of nearly 4 years, who is lucky to teach a wide range of abilities, ages and curiosities. I wish to inspire anyone and everyone who I meet, to show that we are your own limiting factor, and we have choices to make. I am happy taking the more difficult path.