Judith Humphrys, from Great Sankey in Warrington, is now cancer free thanks to treatment at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s Halton clinic and Judith wants is telling her story to raise awareness this May, which is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month.
Judith, who is 74, has suffered from chronic kidney disease all her life, but her condition didn’t require any treatment, she was simply monitored.
It was during one of her routine appointments that Judith’s GP asked if she’d had any scans recently. They ordered an ultrasound, Judith had the scan and then thought no more about it as she then underwent knee replacement surgery.
When Judith went to a follow up appointment to see a nephrologist – a kidney specialist – to get the results of the scans, she was told there was a mass in her bladder.
Judith said: “I was so shocked as I hadn’t been in any pain or noticed any symptoms.
“However, when I thought about it, I had been going to the toilet in the night more often.”
Judith was given the devastating news that she had an aggressive form of bladder cancer which had spread to the muscle walls around the organ and the tumour was blocking her kidneys from functioning properly.
Typical symptoms of bladder cancer can include going to the toilet more, blood in your urine, a pain or itching when you go to the toilet or pain in your back or lower tummy.
Judith said: “It was the most devastating news. My husband Dave and I were in complete shock.
“Up until that point, we had no idea that anything was so drastically wrong.”
But worse news was to come.
Doctors told Judith that without treatment, she only had a few months left to live.
Judith said: “My whole life just flipped at that point. I feared the worst.”
Judith underwent surgery on her bladder but they were unable to remove the invasive tumour. She had a catheter fitted, which helped her go to the toilet, and a nephrostomy, which helped her kidney function properly, and she was referred to The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s Halton clinic in March 2023.
It was here she met Consultant Clinical Oncologist Dr Rick Walshaw.
Judith said: “Dr Walshaw took my hands and told me he would get me through my treatment. I trusted him implicitly and I knew that he and the Clatterbridge team would take good care of me.”
Judith began 18 weeks of chemotherapy treatment at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Halton.
She said: “I was really apprehensive about starting treatment but I was trying to stay positive and remembered what Dr Walshaw had told me. I felt reassured and knew that the team were trying to cure me.
“I clung on to that thought to help me get through.”
Judith had many of ways of coping throughout her treatment, including several sessions with a therapist, who helped her talk through her feelings surrounding the cancer and the treatment.
Judith said: “My therapist helped change my mindset. She reminded me that I wasn’t fighting cancer, I was working with it.
“She gave me strategies and ways of coping.”
Judith faced numerous challenges throughout her treatment at Clatterbridge and in Halton and felt extremely unwell for several months, but in November 2023 she was given the news she never thought she’d hear – there was no sign of cancer in her bladder and her kidney function had returned to normal.
Dr Rick Walshaw said: “When I met Judith, I promised her we would throw everything we had at treating her, even though her initial prognosis had been less than positive.
“Judith went through some really challenging treatment; we treated her cancer aggressively, with the over all aim of shrinking the tumour and then prescribing an intensive course of radiotherapy to eradicate the cancer in the bladder. She tolerated her treatment well and thanks to lots of support from both her family and professionals, I’m delighted at the progress she’s made.”
Judith added: “Dr Walshaw and the team at Halton were amazing and carried me through the tough times of my treatment.
“I’m so relieved to be able to get back to normal and enjoy life with my husband Dave, our children and four grandchildren.
“My advice to anyone who is going through cancer treatment or who has recently been diagnosed with cancer, is to be guided by the professionals. They have your best interests at heart and will support you through everything.”
