'My IBS was cancer': Massage therapist is left with huge triangular scar - Daily Mail

[massage]

• Charmaine Chantler, 30, saw her weight plummet to just 7st 2lbs
• She would need the toilet 12 times a day and would avoid going out
• Doctors initially thought symptoms were due to Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• But further tests revealed she had rare type of cancer in endocrine glands

By Kate Pickles For Mailonline

Published: 04:52 EST, 7 September 2016 | Updated: 10:37 EST, 7 September 2016


A woman who thought her chronic diarrhoea was caused by irritable bowel syndrome was horrified to discover it was actually a tumour.

Charmaine Chantler, 30, became virtually housebound by the constant trips to the toilet.

She would sit near the ladies' toilets in restaurants and had to run out of the cinema because of her tummy troubles.

Tired of her stomach aches, she went to her GP near her home in Newcastle, for blood tests.

Further investigations discovered she had a rare type of endocrine cancer, that causes tumours to develop in the hormone-producing glands.

She recently underwent surgery to remove the growth - which left her with a perfect triangle etched across her stomach.

Charmaine Chantler, 30, would need to use the bathroom 12 times a day before the true cause of her tummy troubles was found

The five-hour operation to remove the tumour left her with a massive triangular scar which she says is a symbol of strength


Miss Chantler's stomach pains began in March 2014 as she recovered from a two-month bout of glandular fever.

At first she assumed her symptoms were linked to taking antibiotics and generally feeling ill due to the viral infection she'd just fought.

Then she started having diarrhoea up to five times a day and losing weight.

When she saw her GP in March 2014, her symptoms matched irritable bowel syndrome, a common condition involving recurrent abdominal pain, diarrhoea or constipation.

With anti-diarrhoea medication, for the rest of the year, she was able to continue with life as usual.


But the following year, her condition deteriorated.

'It was awful,' she said. 'My gut feeling told me there was a more serious problem.

'By October 2015, I was going to the toilet 12 times a day, it was so embarrassing.

'For around six months leading up to this point, I'd stopped going out unless I really needed to, or for work, because I didn't want to have to go to the toilet.'

Miss Chantler, a sports massage therapist, went back to the doctor, who performed blood and food intolerance tests, and took stool samples.

Later that month, she was also sent for a colonoscopy, which allows doctors to look into the inner lining of the large intestine, at the Cobalt Hospital in Newcastle.

But shortly afterwards, she experienced extreme chest pains and was vomiting.

Her mother, Jane Sharp, 65, took her to casualty at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, where she was admitted for three weeks.

There, doctors investigated her high levels of calcium, performed an endoscopy to examine the digestive tract, CT scans and more blood tests.

They detected an ulcer that seemed to have perforated and made a pouch shape in her small intestine.

She was put on medication and given fluids.

By this time, her normal weight of 9st 5lbs had fallen to just 7st 2lbs.

Miss Chantler, pictured hours after surgery in June, said she thought she would die after being told she had cancer. But she is recovering well following the operation

Miss Chanrler, picture before she became ill, went for a follow up CT scan at the RVI, which confirmed the ulcer had healed - but revealed she had a cancerous tumour in her pancreas

Miss Chantler said she was shocked when she woke up from surgery to see her huge scar but now views the triangle as a 'symbol of strength'


'People were telling me I needed to ''eat more pies'' because of the weight loss, which some might take as a compliment, but I was really sad,' she said.

'Before I knew what was wrong I felt anxious and was having panic attacks.'

In December, she went for a follow up CT scan at the RVI, which confirmed the ulcer had healed - but revealed she had a cancerous tumour in her pancreas.

She diagnosed with a multiple endocrine neoplasia 1 (MEN1), a rare genetic condition, affecting one in 10,000 people in the UK.

The tumour was causing her body to create too much acid, which was causing the toilet trips.

WHAT IS NEUROENDOCRINE CANCER?


Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are rare tumours that can occur in the cells of the neuroendocrine system.

The neuroendocrine system consists of nerve and gland cells. It produces hormones and releases them into the bloodstream.

NETs are tumours (abnormal growths) that develop in the cells of the neuroendocrine system.

NETs can be malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous) and often – but not always – grow slowly.

There are a number of different types of NET, depending on the specific cells affected.

Symptoms include diarrhoea, constipation or stomach pains.

A tumour in the lung can cause wheezing or a persistent cough.

Source: NHS Choices


'When I was told it was cancer I assumed I was going to die,' she said.

'But doctors were convinced that after it was surgically removed, I'd be able to carry on with my life as normal.

'At least now I had an answer to my problems.'

She was put on medication to control the amount of acid produced by her pancreas, which stopped her symptoms.

In June this year, she underwent a five-hour operation to remove the 2.8cm tumour.

'At first the MEN 1 diagnosis frightened me, as I didn't expect it,' she said.

'But now I understand it, and I'm going to have full body scans and blood tests every six months.

'Life is a lot better now that I don't have to plan everything around being close to a toilet.'

Miss Chantler said she was shocked when she woke up from surgery to see her huge scar, as she hadn't expected it.

But she was relieved when doctors said she did not require any further cancer treatment.

She added: 'I'm not ashamed of it though.

'A friend said it looked like a triangle, a symbol of strength - because no matter how much pressure you put on any side, it will never break.'

Although a genetic condition, none of her family has it. She explained that doctors said it is possible the mutated gene has started with her.

'After the operation I felt amazing. It was a massive weight off my shoulders.

'I'm back to work, I've got my social life back, and I feel the happiest I've ever felt.'

She also told of how she is planning to get her tattoo – which reads 'a quiet belief in angels' – redone to blend in with her scar.



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