Doctor, 30, died seven months after cancer diagnosis following unusual symptom
A 30-year-old doctor who had worked to save the lives of patients with cancer died just seven months after being diagnosed herself, despite the medic spotting an unusual symptom that others might have missed.
British-born Becca had spent eight years of her early childhood in the US, studying at the Our Lady of the Assumption in Sacramento, enjoying Disneyland and the California sun, while also getting into skiing with family trips to Lake Tahoe each winter.
But the close-knit family of five returned to the UK in 2007, where Becca continued her studies and eventually became a doctor working in the oncology department, after being inspired by a documentary about the work of Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London.
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But just as she was getting into the second year of her training after finishing medical school, Becca spotted an unusual symptom. After coming home from a night out in June 2023, the doctor realised she couldn't go to the toilet.
Becca rushed herself to the emergency department of the hospital she had been working at in Poole, a coastal town in southern England, but it was only a few days later that a related symptom saw her referred for further investigation.
"She noticed that her tummy was distended for a few days afterwards," her sister Sophie shared in a video for the charity Stand Up To Cancer.
Becca's consultant at the hospital saw the swelling in her abdomen and sent her for a scan, which revealed a large ovarian cyst about 5.5 inches in diameter. Although this was removed, the 30-year-old's symptoms continued.
Her mom Monica shared how early signs did not look 'ominous', with most of Becca's cancer markers coming back normal, but dad Martin added: "I think she knew things still weren't right."
Becca went through another round of surgery so that the cause of her condition could be investigated, with her family admitting they thought she would be okay.
Devastatingly, the doctors, also her workplace colleagues, discovered that Becca had a rare and fast-growing form of ovarian cancer that had already spread throughout her body into her breasts, lungs, and lymph nodes.
Becca was then moved to the same oncology ward she had previously worked in. Her sister said: "The ward she was on, being looked after, she'd worked with them. They were her colleagues. She was the patient.
"They were the carers, she's been on the other side of that."
Sophie became emotional as she shared what happened next, as her sister became more 'weak and ill', eventually shaving her hair off as her chemotherapy treatment progressed.
But despite the immense difficulty of this moment, and her medical understanding of what was happening to her body, pictures still show Becca smiling.
"Our nickname for Becca, as a small baby, was Smiler," her mom shared, with her dad adding: "People I don't think ever saw Becca not smiling."
After her first round of chemo, initial results looked promising, leading Becca to ask when she could return to her work saving lives. But when she shared that her stomach was 'a bit swollen,' their celebrations quickly stopped.
Despite the treatment, the cancer had spread to her bowel, leaving her with no further treatment options. After this, members of her close-knit family spent every available minute with Becca to make sure she was never alone.
Just seven months after her initial symptom, Becca died surrounded by the people who loved her most.
Her mom said heartbreakingly of her final moments: "She lay into my shoulder. When she came into this world, I held her, and as she left this world, I held her too."
You can donate to Stand Up To Cancer here.
William Morgan