Mrs Koffman

"There are lots of things I want to achieve..."

Joanne Koffman waited 24 hours before telling her husband she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer – because she wanted to be quite sure she was able to deal with her own emotions before having to deal with what lay ahead.

The 55-year-old mother of two from Prestwich, Manchester knows that her solicitor husband Brian is very supportive. In order to ensure she was strong and focused, she went to the hospital alone preparing herself for one of three options.

"I went on my own because I wanted to deal with it in my own way," she says. "I thought if they had made a mistake, I had nothing to worry about. If it was terminal I hoped there would be enough time to complete outstanding tasks. If it was treatable, I would get help with it and I would have more time to finish what I still wanted to do. I needed time and space to ensure I understood what would be a huge turning point in my life."

A long-term practitioner of yoga and healing, she drew on all the skills she had learned to keep her composure. "I waited until the following night as I had so much to consider and deal with myself. I thought I was reasonably calm and collected," she recalls.

"Initially I felt quite positive and in control. Brian was stunned by the news, he had had no warning that there was anything wrong and dealt with it really well. It was very difficult telling the children I had cancer but despite being very shocked, everyone handled the devastating news that I would need a radical hysterectomy," she said taking a quick breather. "I've had a few cuts and scrapes in my life and had my tonsils out when I was 18, nothing serious!"

Up until October 2002 Joanne had never had any gynaecological problems. She went for regular smears, Brian is the only sexual partner she has ever had (they met as teenagers through a Jewish youth organisation) and she had been told that Jewish families like hers are very unlikely to be affected by cervical cancer because the men are all circumcised.

She had had no symptoms at all when her regular smear test came back suspect, followed by the repeat test. Her doctor decided to refer her for a cone biopsy. Joanne was told by her GP that she also had an infection with her coil. Her mother was ill at the time and she was afraid the bad news would prevent her mother from not putting herself first and complying with the treatment she needed. She decided not to tell anyone about the cone biopsy and told family and friends that the infection was so bad that she would need a general anaesthetic and an over night stay in hospital to have it removed.

The cone biopsy was done in North Manchester General. Afterwards she asked whether all had gone well and was told the operation had been a success. She interpreted this to mean nothing suspicious had been detected during the operation, with the result that she did not worry at all during the four-week wait for the results.

The moment she heard the message on the answer machine asking her to make an appointment to go and receive the results of her tests, she was convinced that she would be told she had cancer.

When she was given her diagnosis in March 2003, she was told the growth was small. She was not unhappy about having a hysterectomy at her age as she and Brian have two children, Elliot and Michelle, now 30 and 27 respectively.

Friends she knew through her healing activities asked her why she did not just use what she had learned to heal herself via complementary techniques. "I decided to take the medical route to heal my physical body and work on my emotional and spiritual side with my knowledge from yoga and healing."

Her mother sadly died in April 2003 and her family had to deal with that. The following month she went into St Mary’s Hospital Manchester to have her operation under the supervision on her consultant gynaecological oncologist Professor Henry Kitchener. She was in for eight days and thanks to the support of her family, a few close friends, yoga and healing techniques was able to keep very positive during her time in hospital.

Although she made a swift recovery, she reckons it took her nearly three years to regain enough energies to continue her busy life. She believes that plenty of rest, fruit and vegetable and regular drinks of water has aided her body to heal well. Since then she has had two small scares – a lump in her groin which proved to be an infected hair follicle and the removal of a mole – but she has taken them very much in her stride.

She was also alarmed to experience pain and bleeding after sex, but discovered it was down to thinning skin as a result of the menopause rather than anything to do with cervical cancer. A prescribed cream has now eased the symptoms.
Nowadays she says she feels healthy but is acutely aware of not putting herself in atmospheres that could compromise that – like anywhere smoky.

As treasurer of the Venus Appeal, she has a desire to help others and is patient representative on the Cancer Board at St Mary’s Hospital giving feedback on cancer services. "Life has much more meaning now," she says. "Instead of just living and who knows where it will lead, it is a case of living for the future."

She is pouring her energies into the development of a workshop to teach people about a system she has devised to heal the "inner smile" using pictures of soft toys and coloured materials. She is also very active in the local amateur dramatic society and intent on getting a publisher for one of the several books she is currently writing.

"There are lots of things I want to achieve," she says. "I want to make sure I do them!"