Mum hails bowelbabe Deborah James for cancer diagnosis after star's publicity around symptoms

Anna Youssef went to speak to Lyndsey and hear her story.

A mum-of-three has credited Dame Deborah James with saving her life - after coverage around her bowel cancer helped her spot signs of her own.

Lyndsey Ainscough, 40, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, was diagnosed with serious stage 3 cancer after suffering symptoms for several months.

But the secondary school attendance manager only sought help for the signs after seeing campaigner Dame Deborah, who was known as 'Bowelbabe', on TV in the weeks before her death on 28 June 2022.

Thankfully, after experimental immunotherapy treatment at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, Lyndsey is now free of cancer.

"I was literally ironing and I can picture it now, the scene, the TV was in the corner and as soon as she mentioned about the blood and not ignoring that particular sign," added Lyndsey.

"I looked up at the TV and that's what caught my attention."

Dame Deborah’s mother, Heather, welcomed the news, saying it was an “honour to hear the impact” of her daughter’s work “through wonderful stories like Lyndsey’s”.

Lyndsey continued: "Dame Deborah helped save my life. I think the fact she shared her story of having children – I know they’re not as young as mine - but she was a normal young woman with children, with this horrendous diagnosis.

“And it kind of just hits home that it can happen to normal people in all walks of life…it really doesn’t discriminate. It can hit anyone at any time.

“Literally seeing her on the screen that day openly talking about the importance of recognising symptoms and not being embarrassed, urged me to get checked. I have her to thank for that.”

Lyndsey said she first noticed something was wrong after suffering issues such as bleeding and tiredness, but thought she just had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

“I’d seen Deborah James was on the news and she was trying to highlight her story. It was one day that it clicked," she said.

“I remember being in the kitchen ironing and she came on the news and she just mentioned something that caught my attention.

“And I turned to my husband and said: ‘Those are the symptoms I’ve been getting, maybe I’ve got bowel cancer’.

“He kind of just shrugged it off with ‘don’t be silly, you’re too young to have bowel cancer’. And it was from that moment that I actually decided to go and get checked.”

Lyndsey’s GP sent her straight for a colonoscopy in June 2022 to examine the inside of her bowel.

“I thought I was going because I had got IBS or something like that because I’d always kind of had trouble with bloating,” she said.

“I really didn’t think anything of it at the time.

“I didn’t make a big deal out of it, my husband was working and I didn’t ask him to come with me or anything like that.

“I genuinely thought I was going to get diagnosed with IBS.

“My mum took me for the appointment and it was more or less confirmed there and then that it was rectal cancer.”

Lyndsey, who was 38 at the time, had been chatting to nurses in the room when suddenly “there was an awful silence”.

She said: “I could see something on the screen - obviously I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was something.

“It did not enter my mind for one minute that it could be cancer.

“The computer was switched off…and the nurse turned to me and said ‘did you see what was on the screen?’ I said ‘yeah, what is it?’ and she said ‘we’re not sure, but it’s highly likely to be cancer’.

“It’s really hard to explain what happened next to be honest, but I felt like the bed was closing in on me, it was complete shock, a complete shock.

“I had to ask her to repeat several times what she had said... I thought ‘I’ve got cancer, I’m going to die’.”

Lyndsey went home and told her husband Christian the devastating news.

"You do automaticlaly think when you hear cancer you're going to die, that is what you think and you think that for quite a while despite people telling you there is treatment out there," she said.

"But, you're fighting against the odds."

The mum was then told she was not suitable for surgery, as the 5cm tumour was on the outer lining of the bowel which, doctors said, could not be removed, and a stoma would need to be fitted.

However, following a referral to the Christie in July, medics offered hope that she was eligible for a clinical trial of immunotherapy.

Dr Claire Arthur, consultant oncologist at the Christie, said: "Just because you're young doesn't mean you cant get bowel cancer, the message must be go to your GP if you have a change in your bowel.

"You may not have bowel cancer, there may be another explanation, another diagnosis but we'd rather know about you sooner so that if this is cancer we can start your treatment earlier and you're likely to have a better out come the earlier we start treatment."

"I just snatched it with both hands, why would I not? Majority of people take chemotherapy because they know it works, same with radiotherapy, they know it works," Lyndsey said.

"What I would say to people is, if you're offered a trial, accept it. I'm the proof it works."

She joined the trial in September 2022 and also underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which led to symptoms such as loss of appetite and extreme fatigue.

“It was incredibly difficult, especially around Christmas-time which was my favourite time of year as well, and it was my son’s birthday,” she said.

However in January 2023 scans showed Lyndsey was completely free of cancer – the immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy had wiped out the disease.

“I felt like I’d been given another chance,” Lyndsey said.

“I couldn’t believe it had actually gone. I thought they may have said it had shrunk and they were then ready to do surgery, but it was completely gone. A miracle.

“When they say there is a possibility of getting a full response, you don’t ever think that’s going to happen….when I heard that, it was just incredible.”

Since recovering, the Ainscoughs have been able to enjoy a family holiday and Lyndsey’s family gave her a surprise birthday party for her 40th.

“My son went to Wembley with his school rugby team so I got to see that,” she said.

“My daughter starts school this year, so I get to see Perry start big school.

“All those things go through your mind when you’re going through the treatment – you’re not going to see it. How are your family ever going deal with that?”

Lyndsey, who loves to play netball, now just needs three-monthly scans and monitoring to check the cancer has not come back.

Her brother is now undertaking an Ironman challenge to raise money for the Christie, as a way to say thank you for the treatment.

Dr Claire Arthur added: “We’re really pleased with Lyndsey’s outcome from the clinical trial.

“There’s no evidence of the tumour and she tolerated her treatment for rectal cancer (a type of bowel cancer) really well."

Dame Deborah died in June 2022 at the age of 40, five years after she was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

The journalist used her diagnosis to raise awareness of the disease and set up the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, which has raised more than £12 million.

Dame Deborah’s mother Heather said: “My daughter Deborah was a bright and brilliant campaigner for people affected by cancer.

“Her first instinct after receiving her diagnosis was to shout from the rooftops about bowel cancer and raise awareness so that others wouldn’t have to go through what she did.

“Deborah worked relentlessly to improve the lives of others right up until the end of her life, so it’s an honour to hear the impact of her work through wonderful stories like Lyndsey’s.

“Through the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, we hope to continue Deborah’s incredible legacy by spreading vital cancer awareness and funding cutting-edge research that will help give even more people affected by cancer more time with the people they love.”

The clinical trial at the Christie involves radiotherapy plus chemotherapy tablets for five weeks, together with the new immunotherapy drug durvalumab, which is given intravenously every four weeks for 16 weeks.

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