Chloe's story – stomach cancer

As a senior nurse practitioner, Chloe initially thought her tiredness was due to her busy work shifts.

“I seemed to be ill every single week with a cold or a cough, and I thought this was just normal,” she said.

“Then one day I woke up after a couple of long days and I felt like had been hit by a train. I was experiencing acid reflux and I thought ‘something’s wrong with me’ and I went to get checked out.”

She had an endoscopy and, in March 2024, was diagnosed with stage 2 signet ring cell adenocarcinoma, a fast-growing and rare form of stomach cancer.

“In that moment that you are told, it almost doesn’t feel like it’s real, it’s like you are watching it happen to someone else, but it is actually, unfortunately, your life.”

She started treatment including chemotherapy and a seven-hour total gastrectomy.

“They said it would be in my best interests to remove the entire stomach, and my mindset was that I wanted the cancer out of my body.

“I would do anything to be alive, so I thought ‘I’ve got no choice - I just thought I’ve got to get through it’.”

After the surgery she was in intensive care for three days before starting recovery, which included having to learn how to eat again.

Now considered cancer-free, Chloe is looking forward to life with her partner Aimee.

“When I heard the cancer had gone, I thought I have a future again, and I can start planning things.”

Chloe is proud to support Stand Up To Cancer and is keen to raise awareness of stomach cancer in young people and the importance of early diagnosis.