A young mum who made a miraculous recovery from stage 4 cancer has shared incredible photos of herself before and after chemotherapy.
Estelle Wignall, 27, says at her lowest point, she considered booking herself into Dignitas. But less than a year after doctors told her she was terminal, she's back to full health.
The mum of one from Wigan was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer four years ago after she started to feel tired and bloated.
Doctors initially thought she had irritable bowel syndrome, but her symptoms got so bad she ended up in hospital.
Estelle said: “I picked up a leaflet in hospital about ovarian cancer and I immediately diagnosed myself. But everyone told me not to be so stupid because I was only 22 years old.
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“People said I was being a hypochondriac. Nobody took me seriously – but I just knew. It was an instinct.”
Estelle pushed for tests and in February 2017, she was finally diagnosed with grade one ovarian cancer. She had a tumour removed, along with her right ovary and Fallopian tube.
She made a full recovery and moved on with her life, marrying her soulmate Mike in 2019 and taking up a job as a receptionist. Last year, the pair welcomed their daughter, Brooke.
She said: “I had only one ovary and so to conceive so quickly felt like a miracle. I didn’t have my regular checks because I was pregnant, and during the birth the midwife actually noticed nodules on my cervix and I was referred for more tests, which came back clear.
“We adored Brooke and the future looked fantastic."
After she was born, Estelle planned a hysterectomy so the cancer couldn't come back. But shortly before the operation was due, she started to feel unwell.
"I had started the 12 week diet challenge, to get rid of my baby weight. I just needed to lose a stone, that was all," she said.
"But I started to feel very tired and I had no appetite. I thought it was all due to the diet – but it got worse and I began to think the cancer might be back."
Last November, she was sent for urgent scans, which revealed the cancer had returned and had spread to her lungs and liver.
"I was devastated. The first time I had cancer, I coped well. But this time, because of Brooke, I was heartbroken. She was just six months old and it felt so cruel. I had only just started being a mum, and I didn’t want it to be taken away," she said.
After initially being told she had two or three years to live, Estelle admits there were times when she considered euthanasia, believing she couldn't go on.
However, after an operation and gruelling chemotherapy, she has made excellent progress and her outlook is good.
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The hopeful young mum is now offering natural therapies to other women in her position, to spur them on to recovery.
She said: “The cancer diagnosis was a bombshell but I am determined to fight it so I can see my little girl grow up. I hit very low points as my photos show but my treatment has gone so well that I am now looking at helping other women, offering them the natural therapies that I believe have helped me to stay alive."
“I have a wonderful family around me; a loving husband, a beautiful daughter, and also my mum, Beverley. I have every reason to keep on proving the doctors wrong," she said.
“I want to do my bit to help others and also to raise awareness that this disease can strike young women. It is so important to be aware of the signs.”
The new business she's set up to help other women, called The Haleness Lounge, is on Facebook and Instagram.
She said: “I am living proof that you should never, ever give up.”
