Woman fighting ovarian cancer runs 10k marathon: I am determined to live

'Hearing I had cancer sent me into utter shock'

WITH her wedding weeks away, Emma Kenyon tells Anita Naik how beating cancer has turned her life around.

 

Emma Kenyon, 43, lives in Milton Keynes with her partner Darren and has a daughter Jamie-Leigh, 23.

“Before my diagnosis I lived a fairly healthy life. At the late age of 36 I took up running and, in 2012, I ran the Milton Keynes Marathon. I’d happily run about 10k three times a week and really enjoyed it. 

In 2011, my partner Darren had several strokes. It was a devastating time but, thankfully, three years later he was well again. Out of the blue, he proposed. After all we’d been through it felt like a new start.

I wanted to complete the race to show I still could run, because it’s a wonderful cause and to celebrate the fact I’m still here!

Emma Kenyon

 

We went swimming that same weekend and as I pulled myself out of the pool I had a really sharp, intense pain on my right side. It hurt so much I went to see my GP who said it could be an ovarian cyst and sent me for a scan.

During the five-week wait for the scan, the pain got worse. I started to lose weight, I needed to pee all the time and my tummy hurt. Three days before the scan my belly literally popped out. I went to bed a size 12 and woke up a size 16! It was shocking but the pain was worse.

After my scan the pain was so unbearable I booked to see the GP. She went mad when she saw me, telling me I needed to see a gynaecologist right away and should have come in earlier.

The next day, I had a CT, MRI and blood tests and within a week I had a biopsy. It was then they told me I had stage-four peritoneal cancer.

My belly had popped out as I had a build-up of fluid in the abdomen due to irritation by cancer cells. I had pulled the tumour on my liver – hence the agonising pain when I jumped out of the pool. If I hadn’t done that the doctors said they might not have discovered I had cancer until too late. 

Hearing I had cancer sent me into utter shock. I knew nothing about it as no one in my family had it before. 

When I got home the hardest thing I had to do was to break it to my daughter. She was so distraught but also very practical and immediately said, ‘We’re going to beat this Mum.’

 

Emma Kenyon ran the 10k marathon with her daughter just 6 months after her surgery

After that it really hit me when I heard Darren telling his mum. He had just recovered and now we had to go through this. It felt so unfair.

My treatment started right away because my cancer was so aggressive and had already spread to my lungs and chest and the peritoneal cavity. They were hoping to do three cycles of high-dose chemotherapy but after the third, they said I needed more. That was my lowest point. All I felt was fear and utter devastation that there may not be an operation.

I kept a photo diary to chart what 

I was going through. It was my way of recording everything and looking at it even now makes me feel stronger. Secondly, I tried to keep running throughout all the chemo. It really helped because I was going to have that big operation to recover from. 

I’d run several times a week covering about 4 or 5k each time and I felt this gave me some control with my life, so it was not just about cancer.

The downside was I lost my hair and my taste buds during the chemo and I had my ‘chemo diet’ – I’d lose 6 to 8lbs as I couldn’t eat anything, and then put it all back on again when my appetite came back. 

In November 2014, I finally had the ultra-radical surgery, which included debulking, a radical hysterectomy, removal of my spleen and appendix, a liver resection, and rebuilding part of my diaphragm. The operation lasted over eight hours and I spent two days in intensive care. I followed this with three more cycles of chemo. My last was on January 28, 2015. Now all I have to do is have an Avastin infusion every three weeks, which helps stop growth of cancer cells. 

Six weeks after the operation I went back to the gym. I was only allowed to do a 20-minute circuit, twice a week, which felt ridiculous, but I’d get home and be flat out. 

 

My oncologist said I could start running as long as I took it slowly and I decided to train for the 10k Race for Life in June.

I wanted to complete the race to show I still could run, because it’s a wonderful cause and to celebrate the fact I’m still here! I still can’t believe that just six months after that operation I finished the 10K with a time of 1 hour and 11 minutes, with a lot of support from my friends and daughter, who ran with me.

I see my oncologist every nine weeks and have other checks every three weeks. I also look out for the potential symptoms of ovarian cancer: BEAT – Bloating, Eating difficulties, Abdominal pain, Tell your GP.

There’s a very strong recurrence rate with ovarian cancer but I am determined to live and have such a lot to live for. I want to see Jamie-Leigh get married and, of course, on November 28 – the anniversary of my operation – I’m getting married. We wanted to remember the date for something good. 

We’ve planned a wonderful wedding with all of our friends and family. It’s not going to be a sympathy wedding – it’s going to be a lovely life-affirming and positive day.”

Ovarian cancer facts

• In the UK each year there are approximately 7,000 cases of ovarian cancer.
• If diagnosed early, up to 90 per cent of women could survive five years or more.
• Symptoms are frequent and include: increased abdominal size/persistent bloating, difficulty eating/feeling full, pelvic or abdominal pain, needing to urinate more urgently or more often.
• Other symptoms can include unexpected weight loss, change in bowel habits and extreme fatigue.
• If you regularly experience any of these symptoms, see your GP. For more information, go to targetovariancancer.org.uk.