Tiffany's story – adenocarcinoma

Tiffany was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in September 2021.

For several months, she had been having tummy pain, bleeding from the bottom and losing weight. Tiffany, who works as an optometrist, said: "I was really ill, and I knew something was not right. I went to see the doctor and I was referred for further tests."

"After several months, the news was not good – the doctors found cancer in my rectum and colon and I was diagnosed with Stage 4 adenocarcinoma."

Tiffany said, "I had been with my boyfriend Matt for five years, but we didn't live together at that point. After my diagnosis, he moved in straight away."

"I needed to start chemotherapy, but as it could affect my fertility, I had treatment to harvest my eggs first. I dream of having a little family with Matt, so this was really important for us – I had never thought of having kids as being an issue before."

The fertility treatment took two weeks and then Tiffany's chemotherapy began.

"The treatments were every two weeks and it was such a difficult time both mentally and physically. You are never sure it’s working until you have more scans, so I was getting more poorly and just hoping it was doing its job – at times, I found it all so draining and I had to sleep so much to recover."

The chemotherapy continued into January 2022.

"At this point, they did some more tests and said that I was responding to the treatment and it had shrunk the cancer, but that they could not do surgery straight away."

"They recommended six weeks of chemo-radiation which started in February, and then more scans to plan the next steps, followed by the surgery."

Tiffany said “When I got diagnosed, I realised my whole life was going to change. It felt like everything I planned and everything I wanted was never going to happen. I have a motto now though: 'We Got This', and I wear this on my t-shirts and hoodies every time I go to the hospital, and so does everyone who comes with me – we’ve all got them!"

"It's been such an emotional rollercoaster – one day I can be so positive and the next day I can be crying all day. I have amazing support from my family and friends, though – it is such a team effort and if one of us is down, everyone rallies round and we pick each other up to keep going."

Tiffany has been sharing her journey on her YouTube channel and on Instagram (@tiffanythinks).

By supporting Stand Up To Cancer, she is keen to help raise awareness of cancer and the importance of research.

"I wanted to share my story to help SU2C. You know your body the best – if something is not right, get it checked out. If it is cancer, you would rather have it diagnosed earlier."

I wanted to share my story to help SU2C. You know your body the best – if something isn't right, get it checked out

- Tiffany