Woman who dropped 7 dress sizes in just 8 months says doctors dismissed her cancer as anaemia

A mother who fought eight months of misdiagnoses before being diagnosed with one of the 'deadliest common cancers' said her latest scans have shown there is 'no cancer detected' in her body, despite initially being given a three percent chance of survival.

Yinka Sowemimo-Coker, 65, a solicitor living in London, UK, said the first sign that something was wrong was when she was 'sweating profusely' while trying to climb a flight of stairs at a work event in April 2018, aged 56 – which she said was very unusual for her.

That same month, Yinka said she 'suddenly' experienced back and stomach pain, and over the course of the next eight months, she was admitted to hospital a total of four times.

During this time, doctors misdiagnosed her with anaemia – a condition where the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal – and then a virus.

Yinka Sowemimo-Coker pictured shortly before he cancer diagnosis (PA Real Life)

Yinka had surface-level blood tests and a colonoscopy that did not show abnormalities, so the only treatments she received were blood transfusions to increase her iron levels and intravenous paracetamol.

But by the start of 2019, Yinka had lost so much weight that she went from a size 20 (US size 16) to a size six (US size 2), she was jaundiced, and she could no longer walk properly.

On January 2, Yinka’s condition became critical with a fever over 40 degrees so she was admitted to King’s College Hospital and stayed for three weeks, where she finally had a 'whole manner of tests' and her pancreatic cancer diagnosis was confirmed, aged 57.

This is when Yinka was told she had a three percent chance of survival, before she had a new surgery technique called an irreversible electroporation – a treatment that uses electrical currents to destroy cancer cells.

After this 12-hour surgery, Yinka had six months of chemotherapy and regular follow-up scans to determine she now has 'no cancer detected' in her body.

According to Pancreatic Cancer UK, it is the 'deadliest common cancer' that kills half of people within three months of diagnosis. This is because diagnosis often comes too late – symptoms are vague and may not appear until the disease is at an advanced stage, with the charity adding that people often see their doctor several times before they are finally referred for tests leading to a diagnosis.

'I felt unseen'

Reflecting on how long it took to get her diagnosis, Yinka told PA Real Life: "I was always going to the hospital and they were discarding me. I felt unseen. I felt unheard.

"Sometimes I was even thinking, am I sure there’s something wrong with me? I started to second guess myself. And all that time, something was really wrong."

As a 'hard-working' mother to her daughter Ope, 37, and her son Temi, 28, Yinka said she was never a 'sickly person' before her diagnosis.

In April 2018, Yinka said she was 'on the bigger side' but she was 'very active' and the level of fatigue she experienced while walking up a flight of stairs was unusual for her.

Yinka’s mobility and pain issues persisted to the point she could not walk properly, so a neighbour called an ambulance, but doctors discharged her after two days with a diagnosis of anaemia.

The mother-of-two was initially told she had anaemia (PA Real Life)

Over the next eight months, Yinka said she was admitted to her local hospital our times, where she had blood tests and a colonoscopy, before her suspected anaemia was treated with blood transfusions.

Yinka said: "I knew I wasn’t feeling fine, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong with me.

"I can remember a particular time where one of the doctors said they were going to do a bone marrow (aspirate test for cancer) for me, and the other doctor said there was no need."

In December 2018, Yinka was admitted to hospital for five days for a suspected virus that attacked her liver.

She was rushed back to hospital on January 2, 2019, and was told her temperature was high, so she was treated with intravenous paracetamol before she would come back the next day for another blood transfusion.

But later that same day, a doctor friend from church visited and noticed how sick Yinka was – including her dramatic weight loss from a size 20 to a size 6 and her jaundice – and urged her to go to King’s College Hospital instead of the one she had been attending.

'I knew I wasn't feeling fine'

By the time she arrived, Yinka said her temperature was over 40 degrees and she overheard a doctor say that her 'systems (were) shutting down'.

During this three-week hospital admission, Yinka said she had 'all manners of tests', including an MRI, X-ray, PET scan and CT scan, before she was finally diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, aged 57.

As soon as she heard those words, Yinka said: "Immediately, I was quoting Bible passages. God said He created me beautifully and I was made perfect in Himself… How can I have cancer?"

Initially, doctors did not believe Yinka would qualify for surgery, but she was approved and it was during the procedure on February 14, 2019, that her surgeon used a new technique called irreversible electroporation – a tissue ablation technique that destroys targeted cells.

Yinka was eventually diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (PA Real Life)

After a 12-hour successful operation, Yinka woke up and remembered doctors telling her: "You are a lucky woman."

Yinka said: "When I came to, my surgeon said it had been on the margin of what is possible. Left any later, surgery would have been impossible."

Yinka said she had six months of the 'maximum dose' of chemotherapy through a clinical trial and was told she had 'no cancer detected' in her body by the end of 2019.

Every year since, Yinka has had two full check-ups and, although she had a scare with suspected bowel cancer in 2025, she said she is 'very grateful' to have the support of people such as her surgeon, her consultant and Guy’s Cancer Centre.

Yinka set up her own charity, DChanger UK in 2021, which aims to give a 'helping hand' to people going through cancer by providing personalised support through befriending and counselling.

She said: "I have used my own lived experience to support my community. I’ve been able to advocate for them.”

Reflecting on her cancer journey, Yinka added: "For now, all I can do is pray and remain positive. I am already so grateful that I am still here to tell my story."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.