This week, Coronation Street’s Toyah Battersby will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The heartbreak of being given the devastating news is something that admin officer Emma Colledge, who lives in Durham, sadly knows only too well.
Like the popular Corrie character, Emma, now 25, also started getting crippling stomach pains in February 2022, as well as feeling bloated after she ate and the need to go to the toilet a lot more.
Worried something was wrong, she too was initially told by her GP she may be pregnant. “I was in agony,” she recalls. “Every time I ate a couple of mouthfuls of food, I felt sick and very bloated. My stomach felt rock hard. People kept reassuring me it was fine and it was probably down to IBS or my period.
“But after a while, I knew I needed to get it checked out by my GP. The doctor told me to go and do a pregnancy test. I ended up doing about 10 tests to make doubly sure and unlike Toyah, mine said I wasn’t pregnant. I was then referred for a scan, but because it wasn’t regarded as urgent, this took several months.”
By now it was September 2022 and, to Emma’s horror, the ultrasound scan at Gateshead’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital revealed she not only had a 30cm cyst but she also had stage three ovarian cancer, which affects more than 7,500 women every year in the UK. “I was so shocked and upset,” she recalls. “I was also in disbelief as I was only 23 at the time and I couldn’t believe it could happen to someone my age.
“The first thing I asked the hospital consultants was, ‘Am I going to die?’ As soon as you hear the word cancer, you ultimately think it is a death sentence. Thankfully they were very reassuring and told me I wouldn’t but I was still really scared.”
Emma went on to have a five-and-a-half-hour operation to remove the cyst and the ovary it was attached to, followed by another nine-and-a-half-hour surgery in which she had a full hysterectomy, her appendix and spleen and some of her bowel removed, and laser treatment. She also had a temporary stoma.
Six rounds of chemotherapy followed, which saw her lose her hair. “I found myself breaking down in tears a lot,” she confides. “I felt very tired and ill but knew I wanted to do everything to prevent the cancer from returning.”
In April 2023, Emma went for further scans, which showed there was no evidence of cancer. “I was so relieved,” she says. “All the doctors and nurses were amazing. Ever since, I have been determined to raise awareness.”
While Emma admits she will be emotional when she watches tomorrow night’s Corrie episode, she praises the soap for the sensitive way it is tackling the storyline. “Over the past few weeks, it’s been a hard watch knowing Toyah might have ovarian cancer like me and it has brought back lots of horrible memories.
“I know tomorrow night will be even tougher and I am sure I will have a lump in my throat watching Toyah get her diagnosis, but it is so great Corrie is running this storyline. It will help others know that they aren’t alone.”
If you have been affected by Toyah’s storyline, Ovarian Cancer Action can offer help and information
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm