A mum given a year to live after her swallowing issues turned out to be terminal cancer has "got her life back" and is training for a half marathon. Tracy Lockley, 47, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer - throat cancer - in May 2021 after having trouble swallowing.
The mum thought she had acid reflux or an allergy and was "shocked" when it turned out to be a rare and aggressive cancer. The tumour in Tracy’s throat more than doubled in size in the weeks after she was diagnosed - leaving her reliant on a feeding tube.
Further scans revealed the disease had spread to the lymph nodes in her lungs - which is inoperable - and in September 2021 she was given 12 to 18 months to live. But after undergoing multiple courses of chemo and radiotherapy, the tumour in Tracy’s throat has “vanished” and the spread of disease in her lymph nodes has been halted.
Although she lives with the imminent threat of her cancer returning, Tracy is now training to hike a half marathon in September to raise money for Macmillan, and she refuses to let her diagnosis hold her back.
Tracy, from Newport, Wales, said: “I was given the worst prognosis in the world and began preparing myself, my friends and family for me not being here anymore. It was a massive shock when they said I had a tumour. My doctor said this type of cancer is rare in women my age, it normally affects men who smoke regularly.
"I couldn’t swallow food, drink or even my own spit and had to have a tube fitted for feeding. After the tumour in my throat disappeared, I decided I needed to find a new purpose and began exercising every day.
"Getting my life back was a phoenix moment. In a sense, I’ve been reborn.”
Tracy started having trouble swallowing in March 2021 and put her symptoms down to an allergy. But they continued and she was hardly able to swallow her food.
Following an endoscopy, doctors spotted a tumour in her throat and diagnosed the mum-of-three with oesophageal cancer in May 2021.
She said: “I was a fit, healthy woman, who doesn’t smoke and only drinks socially. The cancer is very aggressive. It was five centimetres in size when diagnosed and after six weeks of scans it was around 12 to 15 centimetres."
Tracy's chemotherapy treatment began in August 2021 – something that was not only hard on her, but on her eight-year-old son Roman too.
She said: “Treatment through the summer was tough, especially having a six-year-old (son). He saw a lot of things he probably shouldn’t have had to see – including all my hair falling out and my head shaved.”
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Following her chemotherapy, Tracy went for a scan in September 2021 which showed her the tumour had shrunk by half - meaning she no longer required a feeding tube. But she was told the cancer remained in her lymph nodes on both sides of her lungs.
She said: "I kept thinking - 'why do my children and family have to see me go through this?' I'd run out of tears at that point, but seeing everybody else cry was hard enough.
"I went away and I made memory boxes for children and talked to my best friend about what my funeral was going to be like. The last thing I wanted was my children having to deal with a funeral on top of losing their mum. Protecting them was the most important thing."
In November 2021 she underwent an intensive five-week course of palliative treatment, - which is designed to relieve symptoms and prolong life, rather than targeting the underlying cause of the disease. She had three to four hours of chemotherapy once a week and radiotherapy five times a week. Tracy was left suffering from extreme fatigue and it had a severe impact on her mental health.
She said: “I’d take my son to school then would come through the door, sit on the sofa and not have the energy to get up again. My head was telling me you're a mum, you’re used to this, but my body just wouldn’t follow suit.
“Back in Christmas 2021, I’d have days where I just sat on the sofa and cried. I lost eyebrows and eyelashes, which was extremely distressing and meant I didn’t really want to look in the mirror. Some days I just wanted to shut the door and not see anybody."
But Tracy said her young son, Roman, gave her the strength to pull through.
She said: “Having to get up to take him to school or football training gave me the motivation to keep going. If he wasn’t here, I would have stayed in my pyjamas most days feeling sorry for myself. But as a mum, you just can’t do that.”
Tracy received the results of her chemoradiotherapy treatment in March 2022 and, to her amazement, the tumour had disappeared.
She said: “The main tumour had vanished - there were no visible signs of it at all. That was massive and completely unimaginable.”
The cancer in the lymph nodes to her lungs is still there, but is currently stable and dormant.
She said: “The chances are that it will return at some point. It’s a bit like someone holding a gun to your head and not knowing it will go off. If anything in my body feels off, I panic. I’m scared of the cancer returning - it’s hard to get your head round.”
Tracy’s fight with cancer has given her a stoic sense of optimism.
She said: “I don't know what's around the corner. I know I have to be physically fit and healthy to fight it if it does come back, but I’m going to live my life to the fullest while I still can.”
Tracy quit her job as a nursery manager in October 2022 and is now training to take on a half marathon hike in September. To get in shape, she plays netball once a week, swims three times a week and walks her dog for up to six miles every day.
Tracy said: “I’m not going to let cancer stop me. People talk about their wishes every day. I was probably someone who would make excuses for why I can’t do things, but I don’t want to make excuses anymore.”
Tracy’s hair has started to grow back and she is able to play with her young son again.
She said: “It’s still short, but I’m back to looking in the mirror and feeling like a normal woman again. I can go and kick a football around the field with him now, but a year ago I couldn't do that due to the fatigue. He’s got his mum back and he’s seeing the benefits massively.”
Tracy, who also has three grandchildren, has raised £6,200 for Cancer Research UK through completing the Shine A Light for Cancer Research walk in Cardiff in October 2021 along with a group of friends, colleagues and family. She is now training to hike a half marathon in September to raise money for the charity Macmillan. She details her cancer journey on her Facebook page, where she documents how her body responds to treatment.
Tracy added: “When I cross the finish line for the hike, I know my friends and family will be proud of me - and that’s what counts."
