A husband and wife, from Norfolk, both discovered they had cancer – just months apart – after his diagnosis prompted her to look into symptoms.

When Paul Boothby, 69, was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in August 2021 – his wife, Diane, decided it was time to get some tests for her bloating.

A private scan revealed that 63-year-old Diane had ovarian cysts, which prompted further investigations.

In September, Paul underwent surgery to remove and treat his tumour. But, just a few months later, Diane was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Diane says: ‘We’re traumatised at the moment – we both feel more emotional and traumatised about it than we actually did at the time when we were going through it.

‘I went from caring for someone with cancer to being someone with cancer – and Paul went from being someone with cancer to caring for someone with cancer.

‘You have to push how you’re feeling to get diagnosed – if I’d left it and left it, who knows what could have happened.’

Paul was diagnosed with bowel cancer after going to the doctors for feeling more tired than usual – and later underwent surgery and chemotherapy.

So when Diane started experiencing severe bloating, Paul urged his wife to book a £190 private scan, which revealed she had ovarian cysts.

Diane explains: ‘I had been struggling for quite a while and kept saying there was something wrong with me – I had an enlarged stomach from bloating and had been referred to the bowel team to see if I needed a colonoscopy.

‘I had been seeing lots of people and getting nowhere until Paul pushed me and said “right, go for a private scan” – so that’s what I did.

‘It cost £190 and it was worth every penny.

‘When I did ask for a gynaecology referral, I was referred down the normal route until I went for a private scan.

‘Following the scan, I had all the proof that I had ovarian cysts and I contacted my doctor to tell him I needed an urgent referral.’

During an operation in December 2021 to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes, doctors also discovered Diane was suffering with low-grade ovarian cancer.

As a result, she then received a hysterectomy in March 2022 to remove the cancer.

Now the couple are both in remission and are looking forward to the year ahead.

Diane add: ‘Paul says he felt numb through the experience whereas I talk about it a lot but we both understand how each other is feeling which has been good – he says I can understand it when no-one else can.

‘We’re not back in what we call the normal life yet – because Paul had to isolate over December, it meant we couldn’t do Christmas with the family but at least this year we’ll be here.

‘We would like to thank the cancer charities and hospitals that supported us – The Big C, Macmillan and Overcan.

‘We’ve been married forty three years and haven’t celebrated our last wedding anniversary yet – we’ve still got lots to celebrate.’

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