A mum told her unbearable pain was a symptom of her pregnancy discovers she has incurable cancer but is determined to make her kid proud before she dies
A mum who was told her incurable cancer was a pregnancy symptom now wants to warn other women “they are not untouchable superheroes”. Former teacher Kayleigh Walker, 37, saw 19 medics and suffered a seven month agonising “nightmare” before she was finally diagnosed.
But she doesn’t want to blame anyone, instead she wants to make her two young children proud before she dies. So now she is using her horrifying ordeal to warn other women to speak up for themselves and to warn medics not to forget the patient behind their pregnancy.
Kayleigh from Cardiff, mum to Millie, five and Rosie, one, says: “Pregnant women aren’t super heroes, they get ill like everyone else. It doesn’t mean you’re untouchable.”
The mum has been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which means it has spread to other parts of the body.
She told The Mirror how she was pregnant with her second child when she went to the doctor for her ‘immense pain’ that stopped her sleeping.
But she was told it was likely due to her pregnancy, and one doctor even said, “I think you think you’re sicker than you are”.
Kayleigh said: “I just felt unheard. I felt like I was just hidden behind my pregnancy. As soon as people heard the word pregnant it was like; ‘Oh, there’s nothing really we can do because you’re pregnant’.”
Suffering unbearable pain Kayleigh saw healthcare providers, from physios to chiropractors.
“I felt like I was just surviving day to day. Even minutes felt like hours.
“It started with a little bit of pain in my neck just before I got pregnant and it got progressively worse.
“Then my back started to get really bad. I did flag it up to medical professionals and they kind of shrugged it off as there were lots of changes going on with my body
“I couldn’t bend or pick things off the floor, could not lift my daughter up who was three at the time.”
The former secondary school teacher told how the children at work even noticed her health struggles.
“The kids would say ‘what’s wrong with you? I was really slow and my walking was deteriorating. They’d say; ‘Miss will you be coming back? Teenagers pretty much diagnosed me.
“I had a hump at the bottom of my neck, something in my arm, a lump sticking out. All these things felt really alien to me.
“I was in so much pain. I could not turn in bed. I had to stop working because I was spasming so much. “
Kayleigh, desperate for answers and unable to take strong painkillers because she was pregnant, was left in tears when refused an X-ray because she was expecting and an MRI could only be done if it was a case of ‘life or death’.
She told the Mirror: “All this time tumours were just ripping through my body. ”
It was only after she found a lump in her right breast that one consultant finally got to the bottom of it and despite the diagnosis, Kayleigh said she felt “massive relief”.
“At that stage I was in a wheelchair. I was not functioning. I was wheeled in and I was very thin. I was just this big 30 week pregnant bump.”
The consultant asked; ‘Why are you in a wheelchair?’ And Kayleigh told her: ‘I’ve got excruciating back pain. I can’t walk. I pointed to the lump on my arm as well. And she just went silent.
“She took out a pen and she just drew circles around all of my sort of problem areas. My heart just sank at that point because I thought; ‘yeah, she knows, she knows what the matter is with me’.
“And I was sent straight away for an ultrasound and it’s just that silence when you know they can see something.
“But I wasn’t scared because it was an answer. I felt safe to be in the hands of someone who was listening to me finally. I felt a little bit of stability in what had been a nightmare. “
She was told she had breast cancer and after an MRI she was told she needed surgery as her vertebrae had collapsed, causing the lump on her back.
“My bones were moth eaten. I had the bones of an 80 year old and had fractured my arm by lifting a kettle to make a cup of tea.”
She had to have an emergency C Section last August as she was in danger of paralysis and Rosie was born 3lb 1oz and 10 weeks premature.
“She was a miracle, really amazing and came out crying, kicking and screaming. “
Two days later Kayleigh was then taken for a spinal operation which involved having six rods and 12 screws placed in her spine.
“As soon as I had that operation, I felt I was fixed. I wasn’t because obviously I had this horrendous disease that was killing me, but I knew that that pain had gone.
“I never wanted to blame anyone but I had a horrific time. I hope if anything this will help experts take note of a pregnant woman’s needs and encourage pregnant women to have a voice to advocate for themselves.”
Kayleigh this week walked in a fashion show for Breast Cancer Now to make her two young girls proud.
“I feel so grateful and privileged to have taken part in The Show with such an inspirational group of people. It was extra special knowing my eldest daughter could be part of this experience too.
“When I’m gone I want them to be able to see pictures of me and think ‘wow my mum was amazing’ – so I’m doing as much as I can while I’m here.
“I want them to know I was a resilient mum, that I’m never going to give up, even in the face of adversity. You’ve got to pick yourself up. Life is difficult and I want them to be proud.
“I’ve got an amazing quality of life at the moment, I like the old me. I know one day that will change, it’s Russian roulette having this disease.
“But I was in a wheelchair and this is proving you can do good things if you just stay positive and keep hopeful. If I can walk every day to school with my little girl, that’s a win.”
Catherine Priestley, senior clinical nurse specialist for secondary breast cancer at Breast Cancer Now said: “…Kayleigh is helping to shine a light on the realities of living with this disease and the profound impact it has on those affected and their loved ones.
“While secondary breast cancer cannot currently be cured, for the estimated 61,000 people in the UK currently living with it, access to the best treatment, care and support is critical to them living well for as long as possible…”