‘MY OP WAS CANCELLED FIVE TIMES’
Cancer patient Laura sees surgery halted because of Covid
A Mum-of-four being treated for cancer has had a hysterectomy operation cancelled five times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Laura Dytham, right, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer seven years ago – and over the past few years has also lost a baby to an ectopic pregnancy, her heart stopped during an operation to remove a tumour, and she was forced to go into radiation isolation and could not see her children for a month.
The ectopic pregnancy meant Laura, aged 42, had to have her womb removed, but the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in her hysterectomy being cancelled five times.
Laura’s cancer diagnosis came after she noticed a lump in her neck. She was initially told by doctors it was glandular fever and could take 18 months to go down, but after moving to Sandbach a new doctor asked to see the lump, and referred her to Leighton Hospital in Crewe. After tests including ultrasounds, a biopsy, MRI and tube down her nose, Laura was told she had cancer.
She told Cheshirelive: “They said it was the size of a 7cm ball on my thyroid and needed to take it off as soon as possible. They said that sometimes they only take a partial amount of it out, however due to the size of mine I was told I needed all of it out.
“It sounds a bit silly really, but I am one of these people that doesn’t pay attention so was just getting on with it and thought they’re going to make me better.”
Laura said the op was cancelled the first time and rescheduled on her birthday, but the surgery was traumatic and her heart stopped beating on the operating table.
She said: “The operation normally takes around two or three hours, but it was double time for me.
“My heart stopped beating when I was in there and the next day
I was black and blue from the compression. My husband was hysterical waiting.
“But they managed to take it all out and lumps of the cancer. I had stitches and these bolts on the side of my neck and because my birthday is near Halloween we told the kids I was Frankenstein’s bride.
“I ended up being in hospital for five days – I was only supposed to be in for two.”
Laura said after her operation her saliva glands went into shock and her body wasn’t producing saliva, leaving her mouth sore.
The calcium nerves in her throat also went into shock causing Laura to feel pins and needles throughout her body. Doctors later told Laura she had two types of thyroid cancer. They referred her to the Christie Hospital in Manchester, one of the largest cancer treatment centres of its type in Europe.
She was told there was a 45 per cent chance of survival and she would need a radioactive iodine treatment in the form of a tablet, which kills any thyroid particles left in the body. The 40-year-old had to go into radioactive isolation for up to five days and wasn’t allowed to see her four children for up to a month.
Laura said: “Before the treatment I was on a low-iodine diet and salt is in everything, so I wasn’t allowed dairy and things like that. It was the most boring diet I have ever had.
“I couldn’t see my children for at least three weeks, but by the time I came out, it was almost four weeks. I wasn’t allowed to share anything such as cutlery or the toilet due to the radiation. People were only allowed in with me for a couple of minutes in the hospital and had to stay behind a lead wall. The nurses had to throw my food in.”
On the first anniversary of Laura’s diagnosis she had to have a second round of radiation. As she was going through her cancer treatment, she became pregnant. But it was an ectopic pregnancy, where the embryo attaches outside the uterus, which was connected to her caesarean scar.
She said: “It was a shock, to have the thyroid cancer, one of the rarer forms of cancer, and then one of the rarest ectopic pregnancies shows I don’t do things by halves.
“I had to have chemotherapy injections every couple of weeks. It was horrific I would go to the maternity ward waiting ages and there would be all these mums with babies, I think that was the worst time of my life.”
Laura had been advised not to have more children following complications during the births of her and her partner Gary’s daughter Ayva in 2015 and son Eli in 2016. Doctors warned it would kill her.
She was later told she would need a hysterectomy to help with pain and because she had precancerous cells. She waited 18 months to have the appointment for the operation, which removes the uterus, but this was cancelled five times during the pandemic.
Laura went into isolation three times, but her surgery was cancelled each time. She hopes to have it soon.
Despite the setbacks, the estate agent is looking forward to a bright future, having joined forces with easyproperty. She said: ““I want to be able to make something out of this and show my children. I can work for myself and be my own boss and also fit around the children when they are in school.”