I donated blood, then found out I had inoperable cancer
A mum has shared how she got diagnosed with incurable colon cancer after her low iron levels was spotted during a routine blood donor session.
Jenny Garner, 41, a community carer for the elderly, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, was told she had dangerously low levels of iron after going to give blood in September 2024. "When I went to donate, the blood droplet didn’t sink fully, which was an indicator of low iron, but I had just enough to donate," she explains.
"I just assumed it's because I'm a vegetarian, and that's what the doctors seemed to think too, so I was told not to worry."
Nevertheless, staff recommended she visit her GP, where she was referred for a further blood test. The results showed her iron levels had dropped even lower and led doctors to suspect she could be experiencing internal bleeding.
Jenny had a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) - which is used as a screening test for colon cancer - and this came back positive, so she was placed on a two-week cancer pathway, before undergoing a colonoscopy in November 2024.
"A member of staff told me: 'I don’t think for a second you have cancer, you have no symptoms but we need to rule it out'," she says of the procedure. "They found some polyps for removal and then this angry red thing - that was bleeding. I asked what it was and they said they’d discuss it with me later. I knew then it wasn’t good." Just 30 minutes later Jenny was told she had colon cancer.
The mum-of-three underwent surgery to remove the tumour, part of her bowel, and the surrounding lymph nodes. But in February, she got the devastating news that the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes behind the stomach too, and is now "incurable".
"I don't remember really reacting, I was stunned," she says of learning the news. "My husband, Mike, was so upset - this is not something you expect at 41, to be told you haven’t got long left. My first thoughts were my children."
Jenny and her husband Mike, 46, a Royal Navy officer, are now trying to make the most of the time they have together as a family with their children - Isabelle, 14, Thomas, 11 and Charlotte, 10.
"It's been really hard, Mike has taken it worse," Jenny says. "In his job he solves problems. If there's a problem he can’t solve, he finds it really difficult. He has done nothing but non-stop research to see what could help."
Currently Jenny is undergoing fortnightly chemotherapy sessions and will have another scan in eight to 12 weeks to assess progress. She has also looked into alternative treatments - which are not available on the NHS - and her family have set up a fundraiser to help fund these, with family, friends and strangers raising £10,400 in just three weeks.
"It's frustrating," Jenny explains. "I'm 41, I'm not old and I've got three young children.
"I'm naturally a stressy person but that doesn't help, so I've had to change my mindset to stay positive," she explains. "It's hard even now to believe that this is happening to me - but I'm not giving up."
Read more about colon cancer:
Want to avoid colon cancer? 5 things you should never do, according to a stage 4 colorectal cancer survivor (Yahoo Life)
Bowel cancer is on the rise in under-50s – here’s what might explain the trend (The Conversation, 5-min read)
New bowel cancer detection method more than 90% accurate, research finds (Sky News, 3-min read)
