Paula Hudgell, the mother of Tony Hudgell—the boy who inspired a change in child abuse sentencing laws—has revealed she has terminal cancer. The 58-year-old from West Malling, Kent, was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in June 2024, which has since spread to her lungs and peritoneal cavity. She says doctors misdiagnosed her 14 times over four years before detecting the disease.
Paula, who received an OBE in 2022 for her work in child abuse prevention, first saw a GP at age 50 with symptoms of diarrhoea and constipation but was told she had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Over the following years, she was repeatedly given dietary advice, antacids, or told her symptoms were due to menopause. It was only after she demanded a stool sample test that cancer was found in February 2022, by which time the tumour had grown through the bowel wall.
Despite undergoing a six-hour operation and chemotherapy, her cancer returned. In June 2024, after further surgery, she developed sepsis and was told the disease was terminal. Paula now worries most about her family, including her 11-year-old son Tony, who has been telling his teachers he is 'worried about mummy'. She said: 'It suddenly hit me that I won’t be at his wedding. I’m just devastated for him and all of my children.'
Tony Hudgell had both legs amputated after suffering abuse from his birth parents. He became the youngest recipient of a British Empire Medal in 2024 for his services to child abuse prevention. Paula is speaking out to encourage others to push for testing if they suspect cancer, saying: 'I should have stood up for myself and demanded they take me more seriously.'
