A year ago a phone call changed Dundee woman Chantelle Cox’s life forever.
The 26-year-old had been in a social sciences lecture at Dundee and Angus College when she received the call from a surgeon in Manchester.
He had successfully removed four tumours from her right ankle that summer and was now wanting to speak to her.
“I left my lecture and went out to my car. As soon as I answered the Facetime call and saw his face I just knew something was wrong,” she said.
“I asked him if everything was ok? He said he was waiting for a colleague to come on and tell me the next steps.
“I then asked him: I have cancer don’t I? He didn’t really say anything and I started crying.
“He then said: ‘I’m sorry but yeah’.”
Chantelle, of Byron Crescent, was devastated by the shock news that she had a rare sarcoma cancer.
She went back into the college to get her belongings and while there someone asked her if everything was ok.
“I said to them – how do I go home and tell my family that I have just been diagnosed with cancer?”
This was just the beginning of a year-long journey for the mum-of-one.
‘Amputation was the only outcome’
A few days later Chantelle was given another scan which revealed there were no cancer cells left in her ankle.
However, she was then given devastating news.
“I was told there was another tumour starting to form in my ankle,” she explained.
“I kept getting more MRI and CT scans and a chest x-ray which happened over the next few weeks.
“Then at the start of November my oncologist phoned me and said the cancer was aggressive.
“She said: ‘I’m really, really sorry but the only outcome now is amputation.
“I hung up the phone, called my mum and started bawling my eyes out.
“I told her they were having to remove my leg and that I didn’t want this.”
She continued: “I told her I needed my leg and that I wasn’t going to be able to look after my little boy Harry. I said to her ‘that’s it my life’s over’.”
Chantelle said her mum came straight over to her house and helped her to see how the amputation could be a positive thing.
She continued: “My mum told me ‘let them take that leg. It has caused you nothing but pain your whole life’.
“She said: ‘It’s not even a good leg anyway, it doesn’t work’. She was trying to make a joke of it and that totally helped.”
Chantelle’s ankle lump was ‘harmless’
Chantelle, who lives with partner Jack and their two-year-old son Harry, explained that she had the lump in her ankle since she was six months old.
“When I was a year old my mum noticed I was struggling to walk,” Chantelle explained.
“She would take me to the doctors but they just kept saying they weren’t sure what it was, but that it seemed to be harmless.
“It wasn’t until I was ten years old that I was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1.”
The condition neurofibromatosis causes tumours to grow along the nerves, but they are normally not cancerous.
Chantelle said she fought for years to have the tumours removed because they gave her a lot of pain.
But when she was a young girl she was told they couldn’t be removed as they were entwined with her nerves.
It wasn’t until she went to a specialist clinic in Manchester, which specialises in neurofibromatosis, that a surgeon was able to remove the tumours.
The operation to amputate Chantelle’s leg
At the age of 25, Chantelle had the operation to have her right leg removed above the knee in January this year at Aberdeen Woodend Hospital.
She said: “I remember lying in bed and I had the covers over it. I couldn’t look at my leg for the first few days after the surgery.
“This was because I knew it was going to be a shock to the system when I would see it.
“But the day after the operation I was up and about in my wheelchair having a laugh with my family.
“A few days later I started to accept it.”
Having a positive mindset
Chantelle began adopting a positive mindset about having her leg amputated.
“I realised there are people out there going through a lot worse than me. So I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself, get out of bed and get moving.
“Plus I have a two year old son and I thought it was important to show him that while mummy has just lost a leg, by getting up and getting on with it, you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.”
Crowdfunder for prosthetic leg
Earlier this year, Chantelle launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to raise £10,000 to buy a special prosthetic leg that would allow her to remain active.
She currently has a basic NHS prosthetic but the more advanced type she wants will give her more mobility, allowing her to go hillwalking and even climb Munros.
She said: “I have a prosthetic at the moment but it’s a bit awkward and isn’t really fitting so I am waiting on my new one being made.
“But the new prosthetic will allow me to do everything – I will be able to run on it and I will be able to climb Munros again.”
How did it feel when she started wearing her prosthetic leg?
Chantelle said it took time to get used to wearing a prosthetic, which she received in March.
“It was one of the weirdest but happiest days of my life.
“I remember going to the hospital to pick it up and when I first put it on I started crying.
“My physio asked if I was ok and I said I was just so happy to have a leg again.
“It wasn’t a case of just getting up and walking though. You need to learn how to walk again and how to use the leg.
“So I was on crutches for a while until I got used to it. Now they can’t believe I am off the crutches and walking without them as I only had my leg amputated eight months ago.
“But I think it’s just because of how determined I am in life.”
Chantelle’s plans for the future
A year on from her cancer diagnosis, Chantelle has beat the disease and she is pursuing her dream job of being a nurse.
She is currently doing her access to nursing course at Dundee and Angus College and hopes to go on to study for her nursing degree.
“I have wanted to be a nurse ever since I was young because I had been in and out of hospital so much.
“The nurses I had were so so nice when they looked after me.
“So I want to give back to the NHS and the best way to do it is by becoming a nurse and helping others.
“Getting such good care from someone just makes such a difference to your hospital experience.”
No regrets over amputation
Chantelle says she has no regrets about having her leg amputated.
“One of the best things I have been able to say in life is that I beat cancer,” she said.
“If I could go back to September last year and they were to tell me we will give you all this treatment and you will be able to get your leg back.
“I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t go back.
“Having my leg amputated is the best thing that could ever have happened to me.
“I don’t wake up in pain anymore and I am coping a lot better than I thought I would.”
She added: “I am now looking forward to getting back to my active self, taking my dog on big walks, walking up hills, finishing my nursing degree and starting my dream job.
“Just living my life to the fullest.”
- We’d love to hear about your health journey – have you overcome the challenges of living with a long-term condition? Or have you marked a special achievement despite having health difficulties? Please contact us with your story by emailing: debbie.clarke@dcthomson.co.uk
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