A grieving dad whose wife died from bowel cancer is urging people to get themselves checked for the disease. Emma Cameron was just 39 when she tragically passed away.
Emma, from Plymouth, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in July 2024. She had been feeling tired, but she and her husband, Luke Cameron, put it down to a "busy lifestyle and being parents".
Emma, who worked as a nurse, had been constipated for a month, but due to her age bowel cancer was not initially considered. The couple went to A&E twice and on the second visit they found that Emma's liver was "in distress", a blockage was suspected and she was sent for a CT scan.
Luke said: "We got told at that point that the cancer was everywhere. It was in her lungs, liver, in her perineum. They found the blockage in her bowel and they fitted an urgent stent to unblock her. But they already knew it was stage 4 cancer, that's when it has spread from the primary area (the bowel) to other body organs. They took biopsies from her liver to confirm it and it came back as the bowel being the origin. We were told it would be palliative care from then, with chemotherapy."
Emma began treatment, which was eight cycles of chemotherapy and four rounds of targeted therapy. Luke said that "it started working" initially and the "numbers were coming down" despite "being in such a bad place" with her diagnosis.
Luke said: "They found a new mass and they believed she may have also had ovarian cancer as a primary origin. In January (2024) her bowel treatment stopped and they tried a round of ovarian chemo, but that didn't work.
"They told us in January there would be no more treatment. There isn't any chemotherapy that will stop the progression at that stage. We made a decision to stop treatment at that point as it was making her ill and not doing anything, she got steadily worse and was referred to St Luke's Hospice."
The palliative care via St Luke's Hospice was "absolutely amazing" and now, widower Luke wants to "give back" by raising money for the charity. Emma spent her final six weeks in the care of St Luke's, mainly at the Turnchapel Hospice.
Luke, 39, described his wife as "caring" and a "great mother". Emma had worked as an associate matron for Livewell South West for people suffering long term conditions.
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Emma and Luke met 16 years ago on dating site match.com. The couple had been married for 12 years and have a nine-year-old son, Michael Cameron.
Luke said: "I want to raise awareness of bowel cancer, as many people seem to think that if you're young you can't get it. I want young people to listen - you know your body, if something isn't right, get checked as no-one is immune to cancer, it's not selective. With Emma, she hadn't been to the toilet (a bowel movement) for four weeks, anyone should know that isn't right and something is wrong."
Worried Luke said he has just tested himself for bowel cancer. He mentioned the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) which is also described as a self testing method on the Cancer Research UK website and the NHS website. It tests for tiny traces of blood in your faeces which could be a sign of cancer.
You can donate to the fundraiser for St Luke's Hospice in Emma's memory here.
