Woman, 45, devastated to learn she has one year to live after assuming symptom was IBS
Clair Honeywood is raising money to marry her partner, Danny
A mother of two has found out that she only has just over one year to live after dismissing symptoms as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Clair Honeywood from the UK was given a devastating diagnosis after mistaking her weeks of stomach pain for IBS, which is a condition she had suffered with for years.
The 45-year-old noticed her pain wasn’t being alleviated and decided to visit her local Accident and Emergency department to seek advice.
The healthcare assistant, who works for the NHS, was then seen by doctors who performed tests on her where they discovered something strange with her pancreas.
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However, she was sent home without any diagnosis.
Again, Honeywood would go on to experience pain which steadily got worse, as she terrifyingly began to develop jaundice which saw her eyes and skin turn yellow.
The mom promptly saw doctors again at hospital and it was during this visit that they performed tests and discovered the awful diagnosis.
Honeywood had stage three pancreatic cancer, and her tumor was wrapped around one of her major arteries, making it inoperable.
While chemotherapy slowed down the spread of the cancer and the growth of the tumor, she may not live more than 17 months.
She said “My poor consultant didn't want to tell me [the diagnosis] but I begged him to tell me.
“They then told me I had pancreatic cancer.
“The doctors told me that the cancer had not spread — but then they said it was not operable.”
Calling it ‘another blow', the mother said that she ‘didn't know what was going on’.
Sadly, the advice she was given by her doctors was very telling of her prognosis, as they said to ‘just go home and make memories.’
Honeywood has stage three cancer, meaning it has spread to her nearby lymph nodes or it has started to grow outside of the pancreas.
Medics told her she has a five percent chance of the chemo working, with around 17 months to live if it doesn't work.
Despite her diagnosis, she has remained ‘really positive’, stating: “I am only 45 and you don't expect to go through this at this age.
“There is still hope but at the moment I am just focusing on the three months in chemotherapy.
“Life is for living — the body can't survive without the mind so I have to be positive.”
Now, she has things she is looking forward to despite her short time left.
Honeywell is planning on marrying her partner of 21 years Danny Burch, 40, in July and her GoFundMe campaign aims to pay for the expenses.
At the moment, it is almost at her goal of £20,000.
She said: “I feel like I have been given the gift of time. I am spending more time with my boys — I have to look at the positives.
“We have been together for 21 years and it has been crazy that it took us this long to get married. He keeps looking at me and saying ‘I can't wait for you to be my wife’.”
Stating that it’s ‘not normal for someone my age to get this cancer’, Honeywell shared that ‘when you don't know what's happening your mind just goes to some dark places.’
The mom added: “You just feel like your whole world ended — you just think about your kids.”
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.
Britt Jones