A Shropshire lady who has bravely battled bladder cancer is urging people with cancer symptoms to get checked quickly despite the pandemic.

Mary, now in her 70s, had a radical cystectomy last July using robot assisted surgery. She recovered very well, but in June this year a persistent discharge had developed and was getting worse.

“I decided to pick up the phone and talk to my doctor,” says Mary. “One of the things that I found really helpful was to take notes of what I needed to say with dates and times so I can describe everything accurately,” Mary advises.

The GP recommended that Mary should get a swab taken and arranged for her to go into the surgery when nobody else was about. Mary met with the Practice Nurse who was wearing all the PPE protection. The Nurse took the swab and Mary was prescribed some antibiotics.

The problem didn’t completely clear up, so Mary called the GP back and was on the antibiotics for longer. However, the bleeding continued, and Mary met with the gynaecological cancer specialist. A referral to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford resulted in a punch biopsy – a medical procedure that acquires tissue for laboratory examination.

Mary was relieved when the results showed that the cancer hadn’t returned but it was caused by a bacterial infection which was aggravating the scar from her operation.

“Having had Bladder Cancer and been given the all clear after my operation, there was still those thoughts in the back of my mind that some of the cancer has escaped and started to take root somewhere,” says Mary. “I’m so glad I contacted the GP as soon as I did. My message to everyone is you can’t afford to delay you have to be on top of it. I would advise anybody who is going to have a telephone conversation about something they are not sure about to write it all down. It’s important to get the sequencing in order.”

“Naturally, during this current pandemic I was apprehensive because it is the unknown and your imagination can often run away with you in these situations. However, it is so important that you share your concerns with your GP,” urges Mary.

“You are not a medical expert and your GP is the professional who knows you. Therefore, they can put things into context, and they will either refer you or deal with your problem which we can’t do if we are left to ourselves. Speaking personally, if I know something then I can deal with it. What gets to me and to a lot of people is not knowing what’s wrong. Knowledge really is power, and you have got options and routes to go down. Whereas if you don’t do anything, the anxiety levels just build and build,” Mary says.

Mary has this reassuring message for people who are concerned about going to hospital in the current pandemic. “If anyone is fearful about attending a hospital appointment I would say don’t be. My experience of attending appointments at both Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital is that they have got everything so well thought out and organised to make it safe for patients. The signs are clear, there are hand sanitisers there, masks and all the rest of it.”

“The hospitals were also extremely quiet because they haven’t got lots of people milling around,” Mary adds. “The outpatient clinics are not as busy as they were. Everything was calm and clear, and the staff were extremely helpful in explaining what was going to happen. In fact, the letters that I got from the hospitals were very clear and reassuring about the whole process for my visit. So, please take the important action that you need to and benefit from the treatment that will be provided to you in a safe environment.”