Shrewsbury mum launches Stand Up To Cancer campaign
A Shrewsbury mum, who says cancer left her with a voice ‘like Marge Simpson’, is urging people across the region to Stand Up To Cancer this autumn.
Loren Stokes, 48, has been chosen to launch the fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 in Shropshire after undergoing treatment for cancer in her neck three and a half years ago.
Loren, who lives with her 17-year-old son Kieran, had to have her voicebox removed after major surgery to treat a tumour that had grown from her salivary glands and wrapped itself round all the nerves and structures in her neck.
Dental nurse Loren had to learn to speak again with a voice prosthesis by pressing a valve in her throat to control the airflow. She calls the rasping tones she now speaks with her ‘Marge Simpson’ voice, and is proud to talk about her experience to show others that life is worth living after a laryngectomy.
She’s urging supporters to fundraise in their own way or pick from a host of fun-filled ideas to raise vital funds at work, home or school. A free fundraising pack is available online for inspiration and support.
Loren was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma in April 2019 after months of breathlessness, headaches, earache, and a constant feeling that something was stuck in her throat. After many trips to the GP, she was eventually sent for a scan at Shrewsbury Hospital, which revealed a huge tumour in her neck.
Loren said: “Basically, it had grown downwards and across from the salivary gland near my ear, and was protruding into my airway. If it had grown outwards it probably would have been spotted sooner.
“They said it was a very slow growing tumour which had probably been there for years. That made sense, because as far back as Christmas 2015 I’d detected a change in my voice that I couldn’t explain.
“I saw the scans and it was one big tumour that had entwined itself in all the nerves and taken over my whole neck. Everything in my neck had to go in order to get rid of the cancer, including my larynx, or voicebox.”
Loren had a ten-hour operation during which the tumour, her larynx, thyroid, saliva glands and part of her oesophagus were removed, and her stomach was pulled up. When she came round, the first thing she did was take a selfie, to reassure her autistic son that she was alright.
But on the third day, reality kicked in and Loren hit rock bottom, writing on bits of paper to ask the doctors to withdraw her feeding tube and let her die. She said:
“The cancer nurse sat by my side all day on that terrible day. But the next day I realised I had to put my big girl pants on, and just get on with it, because I had to live for my son.
“So I learned to manage my own feeding tube and medications, and did everything I could to embrace my new way of living. I couldn’t eat solid food for months after surgery so I lost three stone in weight. But eventually I graduated from the tube to soft food, and now I can eat more or less anything.”
After a second operation to make the tracheosophageal voice prosthesis (TEP), Loren had seven weeks of intensive radiotherapy to her neck.
But the hardest thing was coming to terms with the loss of her voice. Loren had to learn to speak using the TEP, which is permanently sited in her throat. She presses a valve to control the airflow, and this enables her to speak.
“People are sometimes a bit freaked out by the voice. It is a rough, rasping sound – I call it my ‘Marge Simpson’ voice. And sometimes people stare at the valve in my throat, even talking to my friends instead of me, as if I am invisible,” said Loren.
“I had to rebuild my social confidence gradually, because I wouldn’t go out of the house at first. But now I don’t let anything hold me back, I am back at work part-time, I socialise and exercise at the gym. I even gave a speech at my friend’s wedding in Oswestry!”
Since being diagnosed, Loren has taken on Race for Life Pretty Muddy with her friends, has done a 100 mile sponsored walk for charity, and has starred in a photoshoot for the company that makes her voice prosthesis.
However, in October 2020, a routine scan showed that Loren’s cancer had come back in her lungs. She has been told the tumours are inoperable, but they are slow-growing, so Loren is determined to live her life as normally as possible and do everything she can to share her experience with others. She is now being treated at Manchester’s Christie hospital, where she has scans every six months.
Loren credits the people around her with getting her through the difficult times. She said:
“My partner, Chris, who I met only two weeks before my operation, has been absolutely fantastic, as have my mum and stepdad, who came with me to every appointment. My son Kieran has inspired me with his positive outlook on life, and I have taken a leaf from his book whenever I’ve felt low. And my work colleagues have bent over backwards to help me get back to work. Despite my illness, I feel lucky.
“But more than anything I feel thankful for the treatment that has helped me live to fight another day. It’s thanks to research that I’m still standing and have enjoyed many special moments with my loved ones. Cancer can affect anyone’s life, at any time, so we really have no choice other than to unite against it and help support the scientists to keep making new discoveries.”
With around 32,100 people diagnosed with cancer every year in the West Midlands, the need to speed up progress is clear.
Stand Up To Cancer helps to take breakthroughs from the lab and transform them, quickly, into cutting-edge treatments that could help save the lives of more people.
2022 marks the 10th anniversary of Stand Up To Cancer in the UK. More than £93 million has been raised to date, funding 64 clinical trials and projects involving more than 13,000 cancer patients.
Loren understands the importance of this vital work all too clearly. She continued:
“I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for research into better and kinder treatments, that’s why I’m lending my heartfelt support to this vitally important campaign. Every action big or small could help make a difference. So, I hope people in Shropshire will Stand Up To Cancer for me and everyone affected by this devastating disease.”
Whether fundraisers take part in a fitness fortnight, get sponsored to stand up all day, dress head to toe in orange or organise their own bake sale, there are lots of ways to get involved.
For those who want to take on cancer in style, there’s also a striking range of clothing and accessories for men and women available online.
Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Shropshire, Jane Redman, said:
“Thanks to our supporters, every day our researchers are working tirelessly to help more people survive. They’re finding ways to stop cancer from resisting treatment. They’re improving technology to detect cancer faster and boosting the immune system so it’s better at destroying cancer cells.
“But there’s so much further to go. One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime.** All of us can play a part to help beat it. That’s why we’re asking everyone to Stand Up To Cancer this autumn and raise money that could help get new tests and treatments to those who need them most. If we all stand together, we can save lives.”
To fundraise or donate visit su2c.org.uk
