'Dame Deborah James saved my life from bowel cancer'

A mother-of-three has told how Dame Deborah James helped save her life from bowel cancer.

Lyndsey Ainscough, 40, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, was diagnosed with stage three cancer after suffering symptoms for several months.

The secondary school attendance manager only sought help after seeing campaigner Dame Deborah on TV in the weeks before her death on 28 June 2022 - two years ago this week.

Mrs Ainscough said: "It was one day that it clicked. Dame Deborah helped save my life."

She had been suffering issues such as bleeding and tiredness, but thought she had irritable bowel syndrome.

Mrs Ainscough is cancer free thanks to experimental immunotherapy treatment at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester.

She said: "I remember being in the kitchen ironing and she [Dame Deborah] came on the news and she just mentioned something that caught my attention.

"And I turned to my husband and said: 'Those are the symptoms I've been getting, maybe I've got bowel cancer.'

"He kind of just shrugged it off and it was from that moment that I actually decided to go and get checked."

Her GP sent her straight for a colonoscopy in June 2022.

She was 38 at the time, had been chatting to nurses in the room when suddenly "there was an awful silence".

"I could see something on the screen... it did not enter my mind for one minute that it could be cancer."

"The nurse turned to me and said 'did you see what was on the screen?' I said 'yeah, what is it?' and she said 'we're not sure, but it's highly likely to be cancer.'

"I felt like the bed was closing in on me, it was complete shock."

She added: "I thought 'I've got cancer, I'm going to die'."

There was more crushing news when she was told she was not suitable for surgery.

The 5cm (2 inch) tumour could not be removed however, following a referral to the Christie medics offered hoped she would be eligible for a clinical trial of immunotherapy.

"It was a no-brainer," said Mrs Ainscough who joined the trial in September 2022.

Since January 2023 scans showed she was cancer free - the immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy had wiped out the disease.

"I felt like I'd been given another chance," Mrs Ainscough said.

She added: "A miracle."

• A persistent change in bowel habit - going more often, with looser stools and sometimes tummy pain
• Blood in the stools without other symptoms, such as piles
• Abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating always brought on by eating

Source: NHS

Since recovering, the Ainscoughs have enjoyed a family holiday, she received a surprise 40th birthday party and saw her son at Wembley with his school rugby team.

Mrs Ainscough has three-monthly scans and monitoring to check the cancer has not come back.

Dr Claire Arthur, consultant oncologist at the Christie, said: "We're really pleased with Lyndsey's outcome from the clinical trial.

"We're seeing an increase in colorectal cancers in young adults, so it's important people who have possible symptoms don't delay going to their GP and getting checked out."

Dame Deborah began writing about her bowel cancer diagnosis in 2018 and hosted BBC Radio 5 Live's You. Me and The Big C podcast.

She campaigned to raise the profile of bowel cancer checks.