Mum-of-two diagnosed with stage four cancer months after doctors removed wrong part of her body
A mother-of-two was diagnosed with stage four cancer months after doctors removed the wrong part of her body and gave her the all-clear.
Rhian Butlin, 32, who had been suffering from ‘excruciating’ stomach pain, underwent a full hysterectomy to remove her womb and also had the lining of her bowel and appendix taken out during major surgery in December.
But when the dental nurse’s biopsy results came back two months later, no cancer was found in her womb or any of the other body parts they had removed.
The young mother from Northampton was then sent for a colonoscopy, which also came back clear.
This was the good news Rhian had been praying for and she couldn’t wait to tell her children aged ten and 11 that she was now cancer free.
However, in the next 24 hours Rhian’s symptoms returned worse than ever and after investigating further doctors then told her that cancer had after all been present in her removed appendix.
But the organ hadn’t been removed in time to stop the cancer from spreading and, she was told, her illness is now incurable.
Rhian told MailOnline: ‘I’m just emotionally drained. I’m constantly scared and some nights I barely sleep… It’s just been a very scary journey if I’m honest. Obviously, I’ve had a full hysterectomy when I did not need to.
‘I’ve had my ovaries removed when I did not have ovarian cancer and I’ve had the lining of my bowel removed when I did not have bowel cancer.
Her sister, Lindsey Rice, 39, said she felt like Rhian had been ‘massively let down’ by the health service.
‘It’s not been the best experience,’ she said. ‘If they figured it out earlier on, then we would not be in the position we are in now. It feels like we have been massively let down.
‘Rhian even works for the NHS – she is a dental nurse.’
Rhian first went to the GP in September after complaining of pain in her stomach and had an initial scan.
However, nothing was picked up and the mother-of-two said the doctors ‘dismissed’ her symptoms as being caused by polycystic ovaries.
Rhian was then rushed back to Kettering Hospital in November after her stomach swelled to the extent she looked ‘nine months pregnant’ and she was in excruciating pain.
After carrying out a second scan, doctors told Rhian she had a 25cm tumour on one of her ovaries that needed to be removed through surgery.
She was transferred to Northampton Hospital where she had a full hysterectomy and the lining of her bowel and her appendix removed as they also appeared ‘swollen’.
Rhian, who was suffering from a build-up of fluid and recovering from sepsis, reacted badly to the operation with her family told she might not make it through the night.
She eventually stabilised and was sent home the day before Christmas Eve – but was still waiting on the results of her biopsies taken from the operation.
Lindsey, who works as an aesthetics practitioner, said : ‘We had no idea what was going on other than they had found a 25cm teratoma.
‘Initially they said we would hear within two weeks but it ended up being two months.
‘Eventually we were told that they had done the biopsy on the ovaries, the appendix and the lining of the bowel but there was no cancer there.
‘So, they then sent her for a colonoscopy to see if she had colon cancer. We went for that and there was no cancer located so they gave her the all-clear. They said it must be endometriosis.
‘Rian has two young children, you know, so we had a big toast and the lot.
‘But the next day her belly was filling up with fluid again and we got on the phone to the GP.
‘It was at this point, at around 4pm, they said we are so sorry, we have gone through your notes and you did actually have cancer.
‘But it was in your appendix and it is one of the rarest forms of cancer.
‘And they said, we’re really sorry but we’ve just got your CT results, because obviously, your appendix has been taken, but it’s now just travelled to your lymph node and your pelvis.’
Rhian began her first three months of intensive chemotherapy on Tuesday – more than six months after she first went to the GP complaining of pain in her stomach.
Earlier this week, Lindsey set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for her sister to take her children on holiday when she finishes her first round of treatment.
The 39-year-old said: ‘It has been quite traumatic for the children. They’re only 11 and 12, and she just wants something for them to look forward to.
‘We want to get a little holiday booked so then when she finishes these three months of chemo, she has a break and can start again.
‘And obviously with the money she’s getting from her work. That’s barely covering her bills at the moment, you know, and we just wanted to have a little part that can go right.’
Lindsey’s GoFundMe page, which was set up on Monday, has already raised nearly half of its £2,500 target.
Rhian said: ‘The response to the GoFundMe has been amazing. Everyone has just been so generous.
‘I just want to be able to stop for a moment and take my kids away for like a week or a few days and just forget if that makes sense.
‘My kids have always wanted me to take them on holiday. I always planned to do it this year before I got poorly. I was studying before that and it’s been a year since I qualified as a dental nurse.’
