Mum-of-one Georgia Gardiner thought she was ‘invincible’ at 28 with her whole life ahead of her before receiving an earth-shattering diagnosis. Now she is urging others to always push doctors with any concerns
Out of the blue last summer, Georgia Gardiner began experiencing sickness and stomach cramps that she says were dismissed as heartburn by her GP.
The 28-year-old was prescribed anti-acid reflux medication, but it wasn’t until she was fobbed off a total of nine times, she claims, that she finally got to the bottom of what was wrong with her with a shock diagnosis. Her symptoms began to worsen and she was left unable to stomach any food, resulting in her dropping almost three stone in a matter of months.
Concerned about her deteriorating health, the mum-of-one persisted with seeking medical advice but was advised to continue with her tablets. After months of traipsing back and forth to her GP and hospital, Georgia was eventually referred down a non-specific symptoms pathway where she was given an endoscopy.
Results showed there was evidence of cancer, and further testing confirmed Georgia had a rare and aggressive form of gastric cancer, which is incurable. Stunned, Georgia was told she may have just 12 months to live, with treatment aimed at improving her quality of life.
Speaking about the time her symptoms worsened, Georgia, from Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: “My body was just rejecting everything. Then I was experiencing pains in my upper stomach. It was really intense, it was a sharp constant pain.
“I rang the doctors to get an idea about what was going on. They gave me an appointment after four weeks of waiting and gave me some anti-acid reflux medication, then sent me home.”
It was on June 13 that Georgia was told she had linitus plastica, a rare type of adenocarcinoma that starts in the glands that line your organs. The cancer has spread to her lymph nodes and into other parts of her internal organs.
Georgia, who was due to start a business management course before her diagnosis, said: “After the first appointment, we were full of hope that they could just remove it. Then when they said it was incurable, I went into a complete shock state.
“I didn’t speak or leave the house for three days, my whole world just crumbled around me. They don’t understand where this has come from. None of my immediate family have cancer and this type of cancer usually affects 70 to 80 year olds.
“I said, ‘am I going to die? I can’t die, I have a two-year-old son’. My fiancé Callum just went green. I asked ‘older people that get this, how long do they live?’ And he said roughly 12 months. It doesn’t feel real, it’s an out-of-body experience.
“I feel physically fine. I was fit and healthy. It’s just baffling.” Georgia, a keen horse rider, feels angry that her symptoms weren’t taken seriously by health professionals, she alleges, and is urging others to always push doctors with any concerns.
The mum is determined to fight as much as possible while creating memories with her two-year-old son Arlo over the next year. Georgia said: “That doctor who referred me has given me a fighting chance rather than it just creeping up on me.
“I just wasn’t taken seriously, kept given [medication] and told it was acid reflux or heartburn and related to that, but it wasn’t. The kind of cancer I’ve got goes from stage one to four in a matter of months.”
She added: “I never thought I would have cancer, I’m 28, I thought I was invincible. I’m just going to try and fight this in every way possible. I’m planning my wedding, we were supposed to get married in a couple of years but we’ve brought that forward because we don’t know if I’m going to be here.
“The thing that breaks me is how much I’m going to miss out on in Arlo’s life. He’s everything to me – he gives my life purpose. I’d say to other people, push for answers and don’t stop. If someone else had this type of cancer and they can catch it at an earlier stage by making doctors do the correct tests, then at least I know that I’ve helped somebody then.”
A fundraiser has been launched to help pay for any future treatment and to make memories with Georgia and her family. You can donate to Georgia’s GoFundMe page here, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/q4hsec-georgias-story