A teenager who was diagnosed with bowel cancer at just 19 has described her unwavering determination to beat the disease – after initially being told she wasn’t seriously ill.
Hannah Lyson had part of her bowel removed and a colostomy bag fitted – after her mum insisted on further tests, which revealed she had five tumours growing on her bowel and liver.
The teenager from Lancashire says the love of her supportive boyfriend, Paul Healey, 19, and family has helped her stay strong.
Hannah Lyson (pictured) had part of her bowel removed and now has a colostomy bag after being diagnosed with bowel cancer aged 19
Doctors found five tumours in the bowel and liver of the teenager from Burscough, Lancashire
Having just yesterday discovered that her tumours are shrinking, Hannah is confident she will follow in the footsteps of her two half-sisters and recover from cancer.
Hannah initially saw doctors complaining of back ache and constipation – but was given peppermint oil for IBS.
Her parents, Beth and Mark, thought she might be suffering from stress, or a food intolerance.
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So it was a huge shock when last May she was finally diagnosed with bowel cancer – after doctors found five tumours in her bowel and liver.
Hannah explained: ‘The doctors just didn’t take me seriously. They didn’t even consider it could be cancer because I was only 19.
‘Having a colostomy operation was hard and I was by far the youngest patient on the whole ward.
Hannah initially saw doctors complaining of back ache and constipation – but was given peppermint oil for IBS
Hannah said cancer has brought her and her boyfriend Paul Healey (pictured), 19, closer together as they have had to grow up quickly
‘But my boyfriend and my parents have been great. Paul pushed me round Alton Towers in my wheelchair recently; we’re like any other young couple in many ways.
‘Having cancer has brought us much closer together because we’ve had to grow up fast and make big decisions.’
Hannah began to suffer with back pain at the start of 2015 but brushed it off as a minor strain.
But in May last year, her grandmother, Ellen, died and she was devastated. Her symptoms became much worse and she began struggling with horrendous constipation.
Her mother, Beth, 55, says: ‘At first, we’d make a joke out of it and say: ‘Are you on the toilet again!’ She seemed to spend all her time on the loo.
Her parents, Beth and Mark (pictured), have tried to make the best of Hannah’s difficult situation
The teenager (pictured, second from left, with three of her sisters) was vomiting and had terrible cramps and back pain
‘But as time went on, we began to worry. She was vomiting too and had terrible stomach cramps and back pain.
‘We wondered if the stress of losing her grandmother had affected her.’
Hannah’s GP prescribed peppermint oil to ease her constipation and diagnosed her with IBS.
She says: ‘The tablets didn’t help at all and my pain got worse.’
Hannah was planning to go to Camp America in June 2016 and, though she was excited, her illness was becoming a serious issue.
She says: ‘I would spend whole days being sick. I was back and forth from the GP and nothing helped.
In April this year, Hannah’s mother Beth insisted on further tests for her – which showed she had five tumours in her bowel and liver (pictured with footballer Michael Owen)
‘I even started to bleed but the doctor just dismissed it as piles. I lost faith in doctors because it felt like nobody listened.
‘I actually said, as a joke: ‘What if it’s cancer?’
In April this year, Beth insisted on further tests for her daughter – which showed she had five tumours in her bowel and liver.
Over a year after her symptoms began, Hannah was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Her consultant told her he could only prolong life and not cure her.
Her trip to America had to be cancelled and she had emergency surgery to fit a colostomy.
Hannah says: ‘I was the youngest one on the whole ward. Everyone was worried by how I’d cope with a stoma but I just wanted to be alive.’
Over a year after her symptoms began, Hannah was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Her consultant told her he could only prolong life and not cure her. She had emergency surgery to have a colostomy fitted
After surgery she began chemotherapy at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Wirral, and her outlook improved.
She says: ‘I had been planning to write a blog on my trip to America but instead I began a blog about bowel cancer.
‘My doctors at Clatterbridge have been absolutely wonderful and have given me so much hope.’
Hannah has two older half-sisters from her dad’s first marriage, who have both had cancer. Both made a full recovery.
The family will now undergo genetic testing.
Hannah says: ‘It’s been a whirlwind few months.
‘At first my doctors were unsure but now they are feeling more positive. My outlook is much better and I feel sure I can beat this.
‘I’m the first 19-year-old with bowel cancer at the hospital so my doctors are not sure how my body will react but I’m doing so well.’