I do something every day to say ‘up yours’ to cancer
After being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021, radio presenter Adele Roberts made history last year as the fastest woman to ever run the London Marathon with a stoma bag. Here she shares her incredible story
As she crossed the finish line of the London Marathon last year, Adele Roberts made history as the fastest woman to run it with a stoma bag, clocking in a time of 3hr 30min.
“It felt like a dream. I try to do something every day that says ‘up yours’ to cancer, and that day was off the charts. From thinking I was going to die to breaking world records, I’d wanted to show that anything was possible post-cancer – and I did,” says the 45-year-old Big Brother star and Radio One presenter.
Adele was diagnosed with stage two bowel cancer in October 2021, after first suffering symptoms during I’m A Celeb in 2019.
“My tumour had been growing for 10 years, since 2011, without me knowing, but the first signs appeared in the jungle,” she said.
“The team were worried about me, asking why aren’t you eating your food? I was sleeping a lot, and freezing. They used to give us two sets of clothes so you could wash one and dry one, but I had to put them all on.
“They have an amazing medical team on that show and it wasn’t obvious even to them – that’s how sneaky bowel cancer is. So now, I want to make sure people know about what to look for.”
Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK, with more than 16,800 deaths every year. According to Bowel Cancer UK, symptoms include bleeding from your bottom, blood in your poo, a change in pooing habits, unexplained weight loss, fatigue and tummy pain. Adele visited her GP after finding blood in her poo in 2021 and, after her diagnosis that October, underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and had a stoma fitted – a surgically made hole in the abdomen that allows body waste to be removed through the end of the bowel into a collection bag.
“I had to Google what it was,” says Adele, who lives in London with her fiance Kate.
“I call my stoma Audrey and, weirdly, she’s improved my relationship with my body, which has been bad my whole life.
“It was the first time I really connected with my body and realised how special it is. It had been suffering for 10 years with cancer yet kept me alive.”
As a result, Adele regularly shares pictures of her stoma and was keen for it to be on the cover of her new book, Personal Best: From Rock Bottom to the Top of the World.
She says she’s “proud” of reality star Louise Thompson, 35, who last month revealed her own stoma bag to fans on Instagram.
“Visibility is so important. I don’t want people to suffer and to think there’s something wrong with them because they might not see themselves reflected. I need to become the change I needed to see when I was younger, as a gay, mixed race woman, who now proudly has a stoma,” she said.
This year, Adele broke boundaries once more, taking her stoma to the dancefloor as a contestant on ITV ’s Dancing On Ice, finishing in third place.
“I wanted to show what could happen after cancer and with a stoma. Anything is possible,” said Adele, whose beloved mother Jackie sadly passed away just before the show aired.
“My first dance was on the week of her funeral. She never got to see the full dance, but I did show her me practising and her face lit up.
“But most of all, she got to see her little girl cancer free.”
Adele got the all clear in June 2022 and is cautiously optimistic.
“I have a blood test every three months to check for signs of cancer.
“The first two years after treatment is when it’s most likely to return, and I’m still within that window.”
Right now Adele’s bowel is twisted, but if doctors can untwist it, there’s a chance Audrey will be removed.
“I’d miss her. She’s been my little buddy, my dose of reality. I would just be very proud of that scar and where she used to be.” InTervIew
‘‘ I did Dancing On Ice to show that anything is possible after cancer