Abagail is mum to nine-year-old Rose, and lives between Surrey and South Africa, where she and her husband run a conservation and safari-focused hotel group. She was diagnosed with stage 2 cervical cancer in 2017, aged 38, and referred to The Royal Marsden for chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Abagail has a very strong relationship with Andreia Fernandes, who is lead nurse for Gynae-oncology.
“I think the most frightening words ever spoken to me were ‘you have cancer’. This paralysing fear moved over my whole body. I literally went numb.”
“I never in a million years thought that would be the outcome of a routine smear test in South Africa in December 2017, which showed some abnormal cells."
“My doctor said, whatever you do, don't leave it for longer than three months and just make sure to get checked as soon as you get back to the UK, which I did.”
“I had a colposcopy procedure, where liquid dye was put into my cervix to show up any abnormal cells. She saw that there was something there and said she'd rather have a look under anaesthetic and take a biopsy. This biopsy showed that I had Adenocarcinoma cervical cancer, which hadn’t even crossed my mind, because I really had very few symptoms.”
“I suppose in hindsight, I had a bit of spotting during sex and a bit of discharge, but I didn't really think anything of it at the time. I’d had quite a traumatic birth with my daughter and things down below had been a little different ever since.”
‘Where my Royal Marsden journey began’
“Coming to The Royal Marsden was the best decision ever made, the care and treatment I have received is beyond anything I could imagine. I was told my cancer was at stage 2A, which meant it was very treatable. I had a 95% chance of a full recovery, I was beyond ecstatic and thought – game on cancer, time we got rid of you.”
“It was then that I met Andreia Fernandes who became my oncology nurse and honestly, she was just so wonderful. I have never met anyone so committed to her job and the wellbeing of her patients. She is what I describe as an Earth angel.”
“My treatment ran so smoothly and I was so well supported – I did 25 days of radiation and four sets of chemotherapy. Then I had two sessions of brachytherapy afterwards, where they put tubes into the tumour area to blast it again with radiation. It was all over in six weeks, from start to finish."
"I was really lucky that my treatment was successful, all the scans showed that it was gone. I was scanned again in three months’ time to be sure.”
“I trusted the medical team so much, it felt like I was truly a part of the team and we were all working towards the same goal. The day I finished my radiation, I was like, you guys have been amazing, but I never want to see you ever again unless it’s in a pub!”
Andreia going above and beyond
“We moved back to South Africa for six months in 2021. While there, I had some spotting and that totally freaked me out and I phoned Andreia. We couldn’t get back to the UK, so she told me to go and see a gynaecologist but all the time reassuring me that it was nothing to worry about."
"I was checked out in South Africa and all was fine but I also went to see Andreia as soon as we returned to the UK in January 2022. She told me I was absolutely fine too, I could then relax as I just needed to hear it from her.”
“For me, nurses like Andreia just showed such kindness and nothing was too much trouble. She has called me at 9pm at night to help calm me down and I am so grateful for her.”
'What have I learned?'
“Having cancer has taught me that if you don’t have your health, you have very little. It was scary how in a flash, my life took on a very different journey with lots of ups and downs. When you have had to deal with something so enormous, everyday normal life becomes a pleasure - because for a while, everyday life was just taken away from you and all you have is appointments and treatments.”
“Paul and I live a happy life with our daughter, Rose and dog Mia. I am beyond grateful for the second chance I have been given in life which would not have been possible without the amazing support and treatment I received at The Royal Marden.”
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