“Dame Deborah saved my life when the TV show explained my symptoms”

A mum-of-three has told how Dame Deborah James helped save her life when she watched a show about the cancer campaigner and realized what her symptoms really were. Lyndsey Ainscough, 40, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, was diagnosed with serious stage 3 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 June 28, 2022 – two years ago this week. Ms Ainscough told the PA news agency she had been experiencing problems such as bleeding and fatigue but thought she had irritable bowel syndrome.

Now, thanks to experimental immunotherapy treatment at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, she is cancer free. Dame Deborah’s mother Heather welcomed the news, saying it was an “honour to hear the impact” of her daughter’s work “through wonderful stories like Lyndsey’s”.

Mrs Ainscough told the PA: “I had quite a few symptoms during the Covid lockdown and had bleeding, weight loss and fatigue. “I saw Deborah James on the news and she was trying to highlight her story. One day it clicked.

“I remember I was in the kitchen ironing and she came on the news and just mentioned something that caught my eye. And I turned to my husband and said, “These are the symptoms I have, maybe I have bowel cancer.”

“He kind of shrugged it off with ‘don’t be silly, you’re too young to have bowel cancer’. And from that moment I decided to go and check myself.”

Ms Ainscough’s GP sent her straight for a colonoscopy in June 2022 to examine the inside of her bowel. “I thought I was going because I had IBS or something because I’ve always had problems with bloating,” she said. “I really didn’t think anything of it at the time.

“I didn’t make a big deal out of it, my husband was working and I didn’t ask him to come with me or anything like that. I honestly thought I was going to be diagnosed with IBS. My mom took me to the appointment and it was more or less confirmed there and then that it was rectal cancer.”

Mrs Ainscough, who was 38 at the time, was talking to nurses in the room when suddenly “there was an awful silence”. She said: “I could see something on the screen – obviously I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was something.

“It never crossed my mind for a minute that it could be cancer. The computer was off…and 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 are not sure but it is very likely to be cancer”.

“It’s really hard to explain what happened next, to be honest, but I felt the bed coming towards me, it was a total shock, a total shock. I had to ask her to repeat what she said several times…..I thought “I have cancer, I’m going to die”.

Mrs Ainscough went home and told her husband Christian the devastating news. The couple decided to tell their eldest child Alfie, now 12, but felt their other children Perry, now four, and Spencer, now eight, were too young to understand.

“The worry was enormous, especially having such young children,” Ms Ainscough said. “To be fair, (Alfie) took it pretty well at the time, but it was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

“And telling my dad was one of the hardest things to do because my dad wasn’t there and it was totally unexpected. You’d say it was awful.”

More devastating news followed when doctors told Mrs Ainscough she was unfit for the operation. The tumor, which was 5cm in size, was on the outer lining of the bowel, so it could not be removed and a stoma would need to be fitted.

However, following a referral to Christie in July, doctors offered hope that she was eligible for an immunotherapy clinical trial. “It was a no-brainer, I was going for it 100 per cent,” Ms Ainscough said.

She joined the study in September 2022 and also underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which resulted in symptoms such as loss of appetite and extreme fatigue. “It was incredibly difficult, especially around Christmas, which was also my favorite time of the year and it was my son’s birthday,” she said.

However, good news was to come. Scans last January showed that Mrs Ainscough was completely cancer-free – immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy had destroyed the disease.

“I felt like I was given another chance,” Ms Ainscough said. “I couldn’t believe it was actually gone. I thought they would have said it had shrunk and that they were ready to do surgery then, but it was completely gone. A miracle.

“When they say there’s a possibility of a full response, you never think it’s going to happen…when I heard that, it was just unbelievable.”

Since recovering, the Ainscoughs have been able to enjoy a family holiday and Mrs Ainscough’s family threw her a surprise party for her 40th birthday. “My son went to Wembley with his school rugby team so I got to see that,” she said.

“My daughter starts school this year so I see Perry starting high school. All those things go through your mind when you’re going through treatment – you won’t see it. How will your family deal with this?”

Ms Ainscough credits Ms Deborah’s awareness campaigns with prompting her to seek a diagnosis. “Dame Deborah saved my life,” she said.

“I think the fact that she shared her story about having kids — I know they’re not as young as mine — but she was a normal young woman with kids with this horrible diagnosis. And apparently it can happen to normal people from all walks of life… it really doesn’t discriminate. It can hit anyone at any time.

“Literally seeing her on screen that day talking openly about the importance of recognizing symptoms and not being embarrassed, it made me want to get checked. I have him to thank for that.”

Ms Ainscough, who loves playing netball, now just needs scans and a follow-up every three months to check the cancer has not returned. Dame Deborah’s mother Heather said: “My daughter Deborah was a brilliant and brilliant campaigner for people affected by cancer.

“Her first instinct after receiving her diagnosis was to shout from the rooftops about bowel cancer and raise awareness so others don’t have to go through what she did. Deborah worked tirelessly to improve the lives of others until the end of her life, so it’s an honor to hear the impact of her work through wonderful stories like Lyndsey’s.

“Through the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, we hope to continue Deborah’s incredible legacy by spreading vital cancer awareness and funding cutting-edge research that will help give even more people affected by cancer more time with people on who love them.”

Christie’s clinical trial involves radiation therapy plus chemotherapy tablets for five weeks, along with the new immunotherapy drug durvalumab, given intravenously every four weeks for 16 weeks. Dr Claire Arthur, consultant oncologist at Christie, said: “We are very pleased with Lyndsey’s clinical trial outcome.

“There is no evidence of tumor and she has tolerated her treatment for rectal cancer (a type of bowel cancer) very well. We’re seeing an increase in colorectal cancers in young adults, so it’s important that people who have possible symptoms don’t delay going to their GP and getting checked.”