A young mother was told she had terminal cancer while undergoing a cesarean section, after doctors ruled out her symptoms as “anxiety” and labeled her as “hypochondriac”. Lois Walker, 37, had a stomach ache for more than 12 months, but it wasn’t until her son Ray was born by cesarean section in 2021 that she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
The mother of three made 20 calls to her GP during confinement and made numerous trips to A&E just to receive medication for anxiety and tell her to stay away from dairy. Surprisingly, surgeons found cancer in her ovaries, lining her abdomen and lymph nodes after her son was born by cesarean section.
And although she has had six rounds of chemotherapy and two surgeries, doctors now say there is no way to prevent the disease from killing her.
Lois said, “It’s been absolutely diabolical. They’re called health professionals, and they’re supposed to take care of us, but that’s negligence. I feel like it could have been detected earlier, so I wouldn’t have that late diagnosis, and I leave three children. If the NHS doesn’t recognize that things need to change, I’m sorry for everyone and for no one. “
Lois, a buyer of an engineering company, first felt unwell in June 2020 when she experienced strange bathing habits and swelling around her diaphragm. He regularly called doctors at Dove Valley Practice in Worsbrough and visited Barnsley Hospital, but was told he could have irritable bowel syndrome.
Louis Walker with his baby Ray and son Ronnie
Lois continued to call her GP as her symptoms worsened, but doctors only offered her medication for hypochondria. She said: “I was going to the doctors, but I couldn’t tell them anything new because they were always the same symptoms, so they treated me with antacids.
“Then they told me it could be health anxiety, so they put citalopram on me. I was already suffering from skin cancer, so I said to my doctor, ‘Don’t you think I could have cancer?’ And he said, “Oh no, you’re just getting old and your bodies aren’t working so well.”
Lois discovered she was pregnant in December 2020 and, 14 weeks later, suffered terrible pain after exploring gender revelations. She said: “I couldn’t cope with this pain, and the more I got pregnant, the more unbearable it became. It got to the point where I couldn’t walk or eat. The doctor said it weighed the same as 12 months ago. and she was nine months pregnant at the time, and that didn’t sound like an alarm. “
Lois said that when the pain was too much to bear, she finally told the doctors that she was ready to commit suicide if her worries were not taken seriously. She was admitted to the hospital for pain control where she was given morphine, but again there was no in-depth investigation by doctors as to what was causing the pain.
Lois added: “Then the last drop was when they had to involve the mental health team because I said I had reached the point where we should end our lives, and I’m ashamed to say. ho “.
Louis Walker with his baby Ray
Lois’s doctor then did a more thorough investigation into their concerns and found a mass behind her belly, which led them to give birth to their baby the next day. And on September 3, 2021, when she parted ways with her third child, Ray, she was discovered by the doctor treating her that she probably had cancer.
Lois said, “When they opened me up, he said, ‘I thought you said you didn’t have abdominal surgery?’ “That’s when I found out that something had been found, because they called a few doctors. They just told me, basically, that my abdomen was so sick that they had to send in some biopsies.” and that I should wait. But I knew it anyway. The doctor took my hand and cried and said I was disappointed. “
Although she underwent chemotherapy shortly after receiving the diagnosis, Lois discovered that her cancer had spread and would be terminal. She said: “My liver had fused with my diaphragm, so it had to be trimmed. My bladder had fused in the back of my belly, so it had to be cut and all my ovaries had fused.
Louis Walker and his baby Ray and son Ronny
“It simply came to our notice then. Obviously, this is never good: they are my main organs that I need. It’s a comfortable life for the rest of my life, and that’s where we’re at right now. “
When asked for a comment, a spokesman for Dove Valley Practice said: Walker and the references for testing and we shared these findings with her at the time.
“We welcome anyone who is concerned about the attention they have received with us to contact us so that we can investigate. Unfortunately, we are unable to comment further due to our duty of confidentiality.”
A spokesman for Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust added: “Barnsley Hospital is sorry to hear that Mrs Walker has concerns about her care. We welcome any patients who have concerns about the care they have received to in contact with our Patient Advice and Complaints Team, which investigates patients’ concerns to ensure that action is taken in a timely and appropriate manner. “
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