“They are angels in disguise.” That’s the powerful praise given to the Ulster Hospital’s medical staff by Domiciliary Care Worker Samantha Higginson, who was diagnosed and is now in recovery from her Stage One Bowel Cancer diagnosis.
As the month of April marks a focus on Bowel Cancer and the importance of early detection, Samantha, who works from Downpatrick’s Downshire’s Hospital, wanted to find a way to give back and ‘pay it forward’ to the Ulster Hospital staff and Macmillan Unit, so she is preparing to undertake an incredible 10,000ft skydive in August!
Samantha explained, “Macmillan gives people with cancer everything they’ve got. If you are diagnosed, your worries are Macmillan’s worries,” said Samantha.
As the prep for the skydive gets underway, Samantha added how she had an initial £500 fundraising target which has quickly surpassed to reach almost £900.
“Jumping out of a plane is nothing compared to what I have gone through.” Samantha wanted to share her story to stress to others how the earlier the illness is caught, the more treatable it is likely to be.
Statistics show how more than nine in ten people survive Bowel Cancer when it is diagnosed at its earliest stage.
Samantha explained how she received her diagnosis in the run up to Christmas 2024. “I had been experiencing symptoms of feeling tired all the time and had noticed blood in my stool. I had missed a colonoscopy appointment and had all good intentions of rescheduling, which, with the routine of work and home, I never got to do. The doctor at the time gave me a ‘FIT test’ (faecal immunochemical test) that can test for tiny, minuscule hidden traces of blood in the stool which can be signs of cancer or bowel polyps.”
“I was sent to get my bloods done and I went on with life, with my routine. My bloods came back and showed how my iron was slightly low and the FIT test had shown up blood in the stool, so my appointment was red flagged to the Ulster Hospital,” said Samantha.
Samantha continued, “I had the colonoscopy at the Ulster Hospital which was very straight forward. The staff were really helpful in terms of explaining what was going to happen and how if a polyp was found, depending on its size, it could be removed on the same day. I was told that if I didn’t hear anything back from the team then the results were fine but if I was contacted, I would need to come in to discuss my results.”
Samantha was contacted towards the end of December 2024, her tests had shown Stage One Bowel Cancer. “I was given two options, either to keep a close eye on my symptoms over the next year or to have part of the bowel removed. I thought it was in my best interest to have that part of my bowel removed.”
“I had surgery on 10 January 2025 and it went really, really well. I want to thank the Consultant Surgeon, Dr Liam Convie and his team and Colorectal Macmillan Nurse Sarah Christie. All the Doctors and Nurses on the ward, from the catering to cleaning staff, the work that they all do is impeccable. To them, the staff, it’s just part of their job to carry out the surgery, but to me, they are life savers. They are angels in disguise.”
Having been given the all clear from cancer on 4 February 2025, Samantha returned to her role as a Domiciliary Care Worker after a recovery period of eight weeks, she said. “I feel great now and I’m getting there.”
Samantha said her message to anyone who has or is noticing any changes with their health in terms of change in bowel habits, constipation, diarrhoea, the feeling of not completely emptying your bowel, blood in the stool, weight loss or extreme fatigue is to contact their GP, “Do not put off making the appointment, go see your Doctor.”
“I have had quite a scare and I feel like I have been given a second chance. If you are ever invited to attend a bowel screening test, go to it, do not ignore it. The Doctors are there and they carry out the tests and surgery every day. Screening can help beat Bowel Cancer. When you are invited, don’t ignore it.”