Last year, Emma Johnston woke up every day uncomfortable and bloated.
At first, she didn’t think anything untoward was happening, particularly as the symptoms would “come and go” every so often. Recalling the feeling of discomfort, the mum-of-two says she was assured by her doctors it was likely to be the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and she was put on a course of tablets.
“We had a Halloween party and I remember feeling really uncomfortable, it was sat really high up, I was so bloated,” 42-year-old Emma explained to LancsLive. “I showed my husband and we both thought it looked like I was pregnant.”
Concerned, Emma returned to see the doctor a few more times before finally being booked in for a scan. Then, on November 30 last year, the self-employed supply teacher received a call from the GP surgery.
She was told a 15x9cm mass appeared to be coming from one of her ovaries. Recalling the conversation, she said: “I said, what do you mean by a mass? They said, well we’ve put you on the cancer pathway because it looks like it could be a cancerous mass and it is 15x9cm which is huge.
Emma Johnston was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year
(Image: Emma Johnston)
“That was just the most horrific day ever – it was awful.”
Emma was informed she would need to undergo a biopsy, but says the days and weeks around this time period were some of her worst.
“I was on the cancer pathway, which is fast,” Emma said. “But when it’s happening to you, it’s not fast. You’re just kind of walking around in a daze with this tumour, it was just horrible. It was absolutely horrible.”
After an operation to remove the fluid from around the tumour, doctors were then able to see the remaining cells and find out which were cancerous. Trying to reassure herself, Emma sought comfort in her family and friends and hoped to receive good news.
However, she says the medical professionals still couldn’t be specific about the type of condition she was living with at this time. Querying the matter with her consultant, she believed it might be stage three ovarian cancer, but the reality was soon to hit home.
“I was hanging on by a thread just thinking, it might not be that,” Emma continued. “The results came in around December 20 and then the consultant oncologist rang me and I had been waiting for that phone call, hoping they would say it wasn’t as bad as they thought.
“Then he calls me and says it’s stage four cervical. I thought oh my God, if you think you’re in a bad place thinking it’s stage three ovarian and they say it’s stage four cervical, I just don’t know how I got through that, I don’t have a clue.
“It was just awful. When you’re at a point where you think things can’t get any worse and they get significantly worse, it was just awful.”
Emma Johnston uses a lot of cold water plunging in her treatment
(Image: Emma Johnston)
In the new year, Emma was informed the best course of action would be chemotherapy – but the mum had other ideas. “I don’t know why but it’s not exactly an irrational fear of chemotherapy, it’s like a massive phobia because it’s completely destroying.
“I just thought, I’m going to lose my hair and I’ve seen people in chemotherapy and they look so ill and it’s just so horrible. I said I didn’t want that but they said I needed to, I just said I don’t want it.”
Emma does not advocate going against chemotherapy for every patient, but insists it was just a decision she made for herself. Instead, the mum has been “everything single thing you can possibly think of, other than chemotherapy”.
She’s had weekly high doses of intravenous Vitamin C, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, drinking alkaline/hydrogen water and supplements including ones from the Care Oncology clinic, some for the immune system and others for inflammation.
She’s been eating organic food where possible, drinking organic juices every day and omitting processed food, meat, dairy and sugar from her diet. Emma has also been resting, meditating, cold water plunging and swimming among other things to help her mind and body.
In April 2024, Emma visited the oncologist at The Christie Hospital in Manchester to receive the news of her latest CT scan, PET scan and blood results. Both scans found there was nothing significant in relation to cancer metastasis and no sign of cancer anywhere else.
She has since received the same news in her regular scans, meaning she’s currently cancer-free. However, she admits she doesn’t know what the future holds and may have to consider chemotherapy in the future.
For now, Emma is looking to raise money to continue her treatments, having spend a considerable amount on expensive medication such as the intravenous Vitamin C. So far, the Go Fund Me page has managed to raise over £20,000.
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