Cancer complications led to stroke for Cornwall travel writer

Anna Ridley suffered a rare stroke shortly after her second session of chemotherapy for cervical cancer.

Following an unusual and rare occurrence, she developed the mastoiditis infection which led to a blood clot in the brain, and on New Year’s Eve, her mother and eight brothers and sisters were told that Anna wasn’t likely to make it through the night, so to say their goodbyes. She was aged just 38.

But she did pull through against the odds, and now she is sharing her story ahead of World Cancer Day on February 4 to highlight the power of research and the work of the charity Cancer Research UK, which expects to see its fundraising income decline by £300 million over the next three years,.

From her home in Newquay, she said: “I was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October 2018. At the beginning of December, I started my chemotherapy to reduce the size of the tumour, and I was hopeful and reassured that the cancer was contained and curative.

"Three weeks later, on Christmas Eve, I had my second chemo session and I was feeling well enough luckily to spend the next few days with my family.

“As my symptoms of chemo worsened a few days later, I stayed with my family a little longer rather than going back to my flat on my own. Perhaps it was fate, because during that time I got worse and my family called an ambulance and I was admitted to hospital.”

Anna growing back her hair

She added: “I remember having seizures and going in and out of consciousness. I woke up in what I thought was a day or so later, but it turned out to be about 12 days later.

"I had lost movement in my right arm and leg; my speech had gone and most of my memories and I had severe double vision. I could hear my family talking around my bedside, but I couldn’t respond to them, and I just made noises.

“I was determined to find a way to make them understand that I was OK despite my illness. I could understand many things, but I just couldn’t communicate.

"My memories started slowly coming back and I was aware that I still had to fight my cancer. I remembered I still had the radiotherapy ahead of me, and I didn’t want people to give up on me and my cancer treatment despite my stroke.

"I was so grateful that my cancer nurse and oncologist visited me while I was in the stroke ward, and that really gave me hope.”

Anna remembers humming to music she could hear nearby on the stroke ward. This helped her to remember words, lock them into her memory, and she started to regain some of her speech. Her family brought in her mobile phone so she could play recent songs on her playlist such as Dua Lipa, London Grammar and funky hip hop, which kept her motivated.

“I was determined to make the nurses, doctors and family understand me despite my new strange language. This was hugely helped by the stroke team in hospital, and my family laughing with me and visiting every day," she said.

"I was in my hospital bed on the acute stroke ward for three weeks, and then I was transferred to a stroke rehab ward at another hospital for another three weeks, where the fantastic stroke team helped me to walk, talk and read again.”

After being discharged from hospital in February 2019, Anna went straight to her oncology appointment two days later to discuss her cancer treatment.

She explained: “Due to my massive stroke and seizures, we decided that chemo would stop, but that I would carry on with radiotherapy and brachytherapy, which is internal radiotherapy for cervical cancer. I was so relived that the treatment was going to continue as planned.

“Whilst undergoing this treatment I was all the while learning how to talk, count, and speak properly, and adjusting to the new way of life after the stroke. After five and a half weeks of radiotherapy, five days a week, and three nights in hospital for brachytherapy, I had to wait another six months for the results. This was worrying, but I distracted myself with the ongoing recovery from the stroke.”

The power of music helped Anna get through and she spent time singing in the shower to lock in her words which helped with memories and her speech. She was on a mission to get better and took part in a 5km walk for Race for Life one month after her treatment.

Anna was keen to keep her promise of making a speech at her sister’s wedding in September 2019, two weeks ahead of her treatment results. Despite some slurred words at the reception, she soldiered on.

“My sister was brave for letting me do the speech, because anything could have come out! I am not sure how much of it made sense, but I carried on and delivered my speech in front of my family and friends who supported me through my cancer and stroke journey.”

Anna and her siblings at Race for Life

Then, on October 29, 2019, Anna was given good news that she had the all-clear. The cancer treatment had worked and she was cancer free.

“I wanted to celebrate my 40th birthday in 2020 with 40 charity parties, but due to the pandemic, it has been slightly tricky.

"I just want to say a big thank you to all those who helped me through both my cancer and my stroke, and for keeping me laughing and smiling.

“I’ve not been able to work, and the pandemic and my stroke recovery has made travel writing hard to continue with. I see my future going in a new direction now, but I’m excited.

“I am starting a blog and podcast called ‘Viva La Foo Foo’ to raise awareness about cervical cancer and other cancers in the gynae area. I hope it will encourage people to have smear tests, checks for any unusual symptoms in that area, and highlight any problems, from gynae cancers, to fibroids and the early menopause.

"Mostly, I hope it will allow people to talk openly talk to family and friends about any concerns they have, so they can seek medical help as early as possible.

“I have found my courage through laughter and being positive. Giving back to cancer and stroke charities for me is a huge way to say thank you for the research that has saved my life.”

Anna hopes that with her journalistic background she can write again about her story one day, so that it might help others. “In the meantime, I’ll be laughing, smiling and fundraising to help beat cancer," she said.

Alison Birkett, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the South West, said: “We’re grateful to Anna for helping to underline the power of research in saving lives.

“We would encourage people to show their support on World Cancer Day and help make a real difference to people with cancer.

“The truth is Covid-19 has slowed us down. But we will never stop. One in two people will get cancer in their lifetime, which is why we are absolutely determined to continue to create better cancer treatments for tomorrow.”

Normally, the charity would fund around ten clinical trials across the UK each year to test new treatments – but has not been able to fund any new trials during 2020.

People in Cornwall can help supporting the charity by donating or getting a Unity Band online at cruk.org/worldcancerday