I need your help. · Cancer Warriors

I need your help.

This is one of the hardest things I’ve had to write.

As many of you know, Cancer Warriors started because of my mum. Everything I’ve shared here, everything I’ve learned it was all to help her and others along the way.

She fought so hard.

Even through years of mental health struggles, trauma, loss, and eventually cancer, she kept going. She changed her lifestyle, quit smoking, improved her diet, stayed active, and never stopped trying even when things were hard mentally.

We had hope. Real hope.

She had just started a new protocol we believed in through Astron Health. And then everything changed very suddenly.

She developed acute gastrointestinal symptoms, was admitted to hospital, and within a short period things escalated in a way that still doesn’t fully make sense to me. The initial diagnosis was ischaemic colitis, and she received treatment with IV fluids and anticoagulation.

Then:

her markers improved
her pain improved
her circulation improved

But at the same time:

inflammation was rising and remained extremely high (CRP 14 on admission, then 400 later)
her oxygen levels worsened before later improving
and concerns we raised about possible contributing factors were not fully explored at the time, despite the acute onset of symptoms, confirmed COVID infection, hypoxia, and rising oxygen requirements which raised concerns about possible severe COVID-related lung involvement.

Over time, things progressed to a bowel obstruction, and we lost her. The two CT scans during her admission showed a very different picture overtime, with significant progression.

I was there every day. I stayed in the hospital for 14 days. I never left. I slept next to her. I asked questions, I researched, I pushed where I could.

And now I’m left with a lot of unanswered questions. Questions that I feel I owe it to her to understand.

There were also periods where her inflammatory markers were extremely high and her oxygen levels dropped significantly. This raised questions for me about whether all possible causes of her deterioration were fully explored at the time, and whether earlier or different intervention could have made a difference.

There were also moments during her care where the focus felt very much on comfort measures and increasing pain medication, at a time when we were still seeing signs of improvement.

These concerns are not limited to her final admission. During her treatment, there were instances where symptoms were initially attributed to cancer but were later found to have other causes, including a kidney infection that was resolved.

I can’t help but wonder whether these interpretations of her clinical condition may have influenced decisions around her care, including eligibility for further treatment options or clinical trials.

As a family, this was difficult to process, and we found ourselves questioning whether all options were being considered.

I’m not writing this to accuse NHS or create conflict. I’m writing this because I need to understand what happened properly.

I am now in the process of obtaining her full medical records to review her care in detail.

If anyone in this community:

knows a good clinical negligence solicitor
or has been through something similar

I would really appreciate any guidance.

This isn’t about blame, it’s about clarity, truth, and doing right by her. And if something could have been done differently, making sure others don’t go through the same.

She was my best friend and she deserved everything.

Thank you all for being here ❤️

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