Monika Pollakova, 38, from Aintree, Merseyside, has spoken about being diagnosed with bowel cancer after doctors initially thought she had trapped wind following the birth of her daughter.
Pollakova gave birth to her daughter, Polly Cooper, by C-section in August. In the weeks that followed, she developed abdominal pain and started vomiting. Noticing bloating, she initially thought it was related to her recent pregnancy, but she and her partner Scott Cooper soon became concerned about her health.
Pain worse than giving birth
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Pollakova said: “The week after the birth the midwife told me I would get trapped wind, which is normal after a C-section. Five and a half weeks later, I just had some bean soup, which is quite high in fibre. I started to have pains and I said to my partner, ‘you know what? I'm going upstairs to lie down,’ which was at about 6pm/7pm.
“Half an hour later, I was in pain, I was screaming on the floor. I was saying it was even worse than actually giving birth. I started vomiting. It was coming in waves. I heard something bubbling in my stomach. We knew it was not normal.”
According to Scott, who also has two teenage sons with Pollakova, she had extreme blood pressure that he recorded at over 200. Taken to hospital, doctors gave her painkillers, believing it was either an issue with her gallbladder or trapped wind. Noting that the pain was so bad she needed to scream, Pollakova told doctors she did not think it was trapped wind. After three days in hospital, she was booked for a CT scan.
Tumour discovered
The scan discovered a tumour completely blocking her bowel. Surgeons then performed emergency surgery to remove around 75% of her large intestine. Further scans have revealed a suspicious area on her liver.
Cancer can narrow the bowel, which stops stools from passing through. According to Macmillan Cancer Support, this is called a blocked bowel or bowel obstruction. Symptoms include bloating, vomiting, abdominal pain and gurgling noises in the stomach.
Pollakova said: “It’s hard to even talk about. The hardest thing is waiting for the results to see how aggressive it is. I have this small child and I wanted to actually see her grow.”
Support from GoFundMe
Scott added that he was already two months out of work when this was happening. “We're not living day to day, but we're certainly not comfortable by any means in terms of what we have to live on. Since she's had this operation and she's had the part of her bowel removed, her blood pressure is really under control now,” he said.
A family friend set up a GoFundMe to help the family. To date, it has raised over £11,000. Scott said: “We were really taken aback by it at first because we've never really wanted a handout from anybody, or if we've ever had to borrow something, we'll pay it back straight away, within a day or two.
“The GoFundMe being put out there has really brought in lots of mental support. The last few days before the GoFundMe got made, we put ourselves into a bubble of, ‘this isn't happening to us’ sort of thing. We were just trying to get through everyday life and still take the kids to school. The support of the GoFundMe has just blown our minds.”
Pollakova added: “For me, it’s about raising awareness. If I can help one person, it's enough for me because with bowel cancer, people think that people under 50 can't get it.”
