A second chance at LIFE

Sue came back fighting, against the odds

- RUTH ADDICOTT

Holding her newborn grandson for the first time is a moment Sue Vincent will never forget. ‘He looked at me with those big brown eyes and my heart just melted,’ she says.

It’s even more poignant for Sue, as it’s a moment she never thought she’d see.

Some 12 years ago, Sue had just returned from an amazing holiday in Greece. She was 54 and looked the picture of health. She’d just started a new relationship, had a full-time job as a local government officer, and liked to keep fit, going to the gym two to three times a week.

Then, a few weeks later, her stomach became extremely bloated.

‘My stomach was so big I had to sit up to turn over in bed,’ she says. ‘I felt tired, nauseous, I lost interest in food and I had a lot of wind.’

She put it down to something she’d eaten and hormones, but her symptoms worsened. She felt breathless, experienced discomfort going to the loo and her skin suffered constant breakouts.

‘I was going through a divorce, so I put it down to stress and anxiety,’ she says.

It was a friend who persuaded her to see a doctor after noticing that her shape had changed. Sue made an appointment and was referred for a scan, but suddenly began to deteriorate rapidly, struggling to walk.

On 18 September 2007, she was diagnosed with advanced stage-four ovarian cancer, and given less than a 20% chance of surviving five years.