I thought I picked up a ‘nursery bug’ from my kids but I was given six to 12 months to live after fighting to see a GP
Date: 2025-02-04
A BUSY mum of two assumed she’d picked up a nursery bug from one of her kids when she was struck down with an irritating cold at the beginning of 2022.
But when Sibylle Schwarz’s winter cold refused to go away, she soon discovered a seemingly innocuous symptom she’d been experiencing was a sign of something more serious – oesophageal cancer.
Sibylle received her diagnosis one day before her daughter’s seventh birthday[/caption]
“It did shrink the tumour in the beginning, and I could eat a little bit, but then it just grew again. I needed a feeding tube, and I couldn’t even swallow water anymore.
“The surgeon had an appointment with me and discussed all the outcomes of the scans. She was very pessimistic and said she was unsure if she could take it out through surgery.
“I said, ‘If you can’t, then just close me up again, and that’s fine. I want you to try. I’d rather die than not try.’ And she did, and luckily, she could take it all out.”
After initially being told that she may only have six months to live, and that treatment might only extend her life for a further six months, Sibylle is adjusting to her new way of life two years on from her surgery.
She said: “I feel fine now. I can eat most things again, smaller portions, of course, but I have energy. I can take care of my kids. I’m turning 40 this year. It’s in the middle of half term, so maybe I will go away for a week or something.
“Yesterday, I had a talk with someone, and he asked me, ‘What is your five-year plan?’ As a cancer patient, you don’t really like to think ahead so far.
It would be great if life would just not change, just everything stays as it is, everybody will be healthy
Sibylle Schwarz
“In five years, my son will be eight, my daughter, oh God, will be in the middle of puberty.
“It would be great if life would just not change, just everything stays as it is, everybody will be healthy.
“During treatment, I only thought about my kids. My daughter had already gone through a lot. We had a bit of a rough start in her life and then we moved from Germany to Lancashire, so she lost all her friends. I didn’t want her to lose her mother, too. I was always thinking about that.
“And then, of course, there was my son, who was only a baby and was a very, very great sunshine in my life. They helped me to survive.”
With awareness of oesophageal cancer being comparatively low compared to other cancer causes and campaigns, Sibylle hopes her story can help others get the treatment they need sooner rather than later.
She advised: “Certainly push a bit more. You always have to be the bad patient and you always have to push. I was never that person. I always waited my turn.
The warning signs of oesophageal cancer
OESOPHAGEAL cancer is a cancer of the food pipe.
It affects 9,400 people in the UK every year, and most people are over the age of 60.
Smoking increases your risk of the disease, as does being overweight, drinking alcohol and having conditions like Barrett’s oesophagus, where the cells lining your oesophagus have become abnormal.
Only 12 per cent of patients survive for 10 or more years after being diagnosed.
There are around 8,000 oesophageal cancer deaths in the UK every year – or 22 every day.
Early diagnosis is key, so recognising the symptoms is vital. The most common include:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Unexplained weight loss
- Indigestion or heartburn that doesn’t go away
- Pain in the throat or behind the breastbone
But some people also experience a cough, hoarseness, dark poo, tiredness and food coming back up after swallowing.
Source: Cancer Research UK
“Of course, you have to be polite, but you have to push and advocate for yourself. And if I would have known that, then that might have led to me being diagnosed faster.”
She added: “I am very grateful to my surgeon. Even though she was pessimistic and not convinced that she could help, she did listen to me at the end and more importantly her skills and determination saved my life. I will never stop thanking her for that.”
For more information about Oesophageal cancer or Action Against Heartburn, visit https://www.actionagainstheartburn.org.uk.
