'The small change in my period that turned my world upside down'

A nurse who was diagnosed with cancer after spotting a small change in her period has revealed the first sign she knew something was wrong.

Helen Hyndman was 44 when she noticed some discharge in between her periods, prompting her to go and visit a doctor.

Helen, from Bury, was sent for a series of tests but the results showed nothing of concern. She continued with life as normal until she began experiencing heavy bleeding and severe pain on one side of her body.

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Fearing the cause was something sinister, Helen returned to her GP and was referred for a scan and hysteroscopy at hospital, an examination of the inside of the cervix and uterus. She was then diagnosed with stage 4 endometrial cancer.

“Even though I’m a nurse, the diagnosis came as a shock as all the tests I’d had previously come back negative," the now 50-year-old said.

"I wanted to keep everything as normal as possible. I worked as much as I could before starting my treatment. It helped me to keep my mind off things."

Advanced endometrial cancer is a type of cancer that begins as a growth of cells in the uterus. It is the 15th most common cancer among women worldwide.

Shortly after her diagnosis, Helen had an operation at The Christie to remove her womb, cervix, fallopian tubes, ovaries and pelvic lymph nodes.

This was followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy which treated her cancer but left Helen with many difficult side effects.

“I was in so much pain, my stomach was hurting constantly, and my joints felt like they were on fire," she added. "I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t do anything. I tried loads of things to make it better, but nothing was working, it was unbearable."

Thankfully,