Grandmother, 62, who was given three months to live is now cancer free

Grandmother, 62, who was given three months to live is now cancer free nearly two decades after she was first diagnosed

  • Darina Eyre, 62, was first diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in 2004 
  • Read more: College student’s heartbreaking essay about caring for her mother 

A grandmother who has been diagnosed with cancer three times and was told she had only months to live is now cancer-free. 

Darina Eyre, 62, from Barrowford in Lancashire, was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2004 after being dismissed by doctors who told her she had a ‘bad diet’. 

The cancer had advanced to stage three, she was told, meaning that it could have spread and that she would have to undergo surgery and chemotherapy. 

Doctors discovered that the mother-of-two had liver cancer just four years later and then found a cancerous growth in Ms Eyre’s lung – just weeks before her daughter was due to give birth.

But Ms Eyre is now cancer-free and said she couldn’t ‘describe the relief’ she felt when she told she was being discharged. 

Darina Eyre (right), 62, has been diagnosed with bowel, liver and lung cancer but is now free of the disease 

She said the birth of her granddaughter Olivia Grace (right), 14, helped to inspire her to keep fighting the disease 

The grandmother told the Metro that doctors are hopeful that the cancer will not return. 

‘Finally, after 19 years, I was able to ring my family and tell them I have been discharged completely.

‘They’ve said, touch wood, that the cancer won’t return.’

Ms Eyre is urging people not to ignore any symptoms of bowel cancer and to get checked by doctors as soon as possible. 

Her own family were furious that doctors failed to take her symptoms seriously. 

‘They just said I had a bad diet, but it wasn’t, because I never had a bad diet.

‘I wasn’t eating how I am now, which is very mindfully, but I was still eating well.’ 

Because the cancerous tumour in Ms Eyre’s bowel had burst, doctors warned her that the cancer could spread to other parts of her body. 

Ms Eyre is urging people not to ignore any symptoms of bowel cancer and to get checked by doctors as soon as possible (with Olivia Grace as a baby)

The lung cancer was discovered by doctors just weeks before Christmas, while her daughter was expecting Olivia Grace 

After being monitored closely for 19 years, Ms Eyre has now been told that she is free of the disease (with her two children, Darina (left) and Igor (right))

Ms Eyre said she was grateful for the care and support she received at Pendleside Hospice and fundraises for them 

She was diagnosed with liver cancer just four years later and doctors told her she had just three to six months to live. 

Symptoms of bowel cancer 

Symptoms of bowel cancer can include changes in your poo, including diarrhoea and constipation. 

 Needing to go more or less often than is usual for you can also be a sign of a problem. 

Blood in your poo or bleeding from your anus need to be checked by a doctor, and stomach pain and bloating can also show that there’s an issue. 

Losing weight without trying and feeling very tired can also indicate a problem. 

If you are worried, it’s best to make an appointment with your GP.  

Then weeks before Christmas, a tumour in her lungs was discovered. 

‘I was diagnosed on December 5 so shortly before Christmas and my daughter was expecting my granddaughter in three weeks. 

‘My daughter had been gifted some little shoes, and she asked me to hang them on the Christmas tree.

‘That was the most difficult moment of my life because my hands were absolutely clammy and shaking, and I didn’t know how I was going to do it.’

But the birth of her granddaughter, Olivia Grace, encouraged Ms Eyre to keep fighting her illness. 

‘When my granddaughter was born and I was holding her, I swore that I would be here for her until I’m an old granny.

‘I was determined.’

She said she was grateful for the care and support she received at Pendleside Hospice, which became a place of comfort. 

Ms Eyre said she wants people to know what the symptoms of bowel cancer are because of the importance of an early diagnosis.  

After being monitored closely for 19 years, Ms Eyre has now been told that she is free of the disease and Olivia Grace, who is now 14, can continue to enjoy her relationship with her grandmother.  

‘The relationship I have with her now is absolutely amazing,’ Ms Eyre said. 

‘She calls me her partner in crime, and we do a lot of things like go on holidays together.

‘Every time I look at her, she’s a reminder that everything is in our head, and we can decide to keep fighting.’

Source: Read Full Article