Medics saved my life four times, says miracle mum
A BREAST care nurse with a form of cancer so rare that only three cases are diagnosed annually, per million people in England, is marking her 40th birthday by fundraising for the hospital that has saved her life four times in a decade.
Charlotte Ward was 24 when she was told that scarring on her right fallopian tube could make conceiving difficult, but 15 years later she fell pregnant and was elated.
However, her joys soon turned to fears when a sonographer at Halifax’s Calderdale Royal Hospital detected a cyst on her right ovary at an early seven-week scan.
By 22 weeks, the growth was so big that surgeons had no option but to remove the ovary and the fallopian tube - an operation which, in itself, posed considerable risk to the expectant mother and her unborn child.
Fortunately, surgery was successful and Isabella was born naturally on March 8, 2010, weighing 7lb 8oz, at the same West Yorkshire hospital.
But, just eight weeks later, following a CT scan, Charlotte was diagnosed with pseudomyxoma peritionei (PMP) which, according to cancer charity Macmillan, is a rare form of cancer that starts in the appendix and spreads into the peritoneum.
Charlotte, of Lightcliffe, near Halifax, who split up with her daughter’s dad when she was two, said: “I could tell there was something wrong because the consultant, who was always so friendly, struggled to look me in the eye and couldn’t look at Isabella.
“He said, ‘I’m really sorry, it’s not the news we were expecting. It’s shown further spread to your ovaries, liver and stomach.’”
She continued: “I’ve heard people say you go into shock and can’t retain the information you’re being told. I could not bear to look at my mum or partner, or Isabella. I just closed my eyes and hoped I wouldn’t have to take this information in. The specialist told me I would need a total hysterectomy. I was 29 at the time, but my concern was whether I would live to see Isabella grow up, rather than if I’d have more children.
“The preservation of life was more important. I wanted to be there for her.
“She was my source of strength and my weakness at the same time. It was sheer torment and torture.”
Charlotte’s first real health shock came when she was 24, after seeing a gynaecologist, when tests revealed she had scarring on her right fallopian tube, which she was told would make it difficult to conceive.
Then an air hostess, Charlotte said: “This was devastating for me. I’d never been a big career person. Family was going to be the most important thing for me, so when I got that news, the bottom dropped out of my world. It meant I had a massive rethink and switched to nursing as a career.”
To her surprise, during her second year of training, she and her then boyfriend discovered they were expecting Isabella.
“She was just gorgeous and the main thing is that she survived and was unaffected. It had been a bumpy ride, but I couldn’t have been happier,” she said.
Next came the earth-shattering moment, eight weeks later, when Charlotte discovered she had cancer.
Due to the rareness of PMP and the treatment required, she was referred to Manchester’s specialist cancer hospital, The Christie, in May, 2010, and has been under their care ever since.
She needed cytoreductive surgery, which is only offered at two hospitals within the UK. The operation can last up to 15 hours and requires a stay in the intensive care unit afterwards, and up to three weeks recovering in hospital.
Booked in for what ended up being her first of four HIPEC chemotherapy procedures, in September, 2012, Charlotte said: “It’s brutal surgery, really gruelling, you are tube-fed for 10 days afterwards and it takes about three months to get back on your feet again.
“I know some people who have had it once will not go through it again. It’s very tough, but it’s life-giving.” Scanned every six months subsequently, sadly, the cancer kept returning and Charlotte had the operation again in 2014, 2016 and most recently in March, just as lockdown came into force.
She said: “There was a lot of trauma this time around, because I’d said goodbye to Isabella, booked the time off work and then got to the hospital and it was cancelled. Thankfully, it went ahead a couple of days later. I’ve also got a stoma now. It’s permanent and has taken some adjusting to, but I want to live for as long as possible and if it helps to give me life, I will go with it.”
Charlotte explained: “I was in hospital for two weeks and was not allowed any visitors because of Covid-19. I haven’t been back to work since, because I’m classed as vulnerable. It is a worry as a single parent, because my sick pay will halve soon. There’s a lot of pressure on top of everything else.”
Despite all her trials and tribulations, Charlotte is determined to show her appreciation to the staff at The Christie, who have saved her life four times in the last decade and had planned to hold a charity ball for them to mark her 40th birthday on August 21.
Covid-19 restrictions mean that is no longer possible, so she is seeking donations for The Christie charity instead, through GoFundMe.
She said: “The Christie is an incredible place, which invests so much time and money into treatments and research. They have saved my life four times. Without them I wouldn’t be here today, celebrating my 10-year survival, my life with Isabella and my 40th birthday.”
Charlotte is also setting up a community group, Make Your Life Matter, to inspire people to make the most of their lives. For more information, search Instagram for @charlward_makeyourlifematter.
To donate, visit GoFundme and for more information and support visit the Macmillan website.