Mum brushed off throat pain as acid reflux before she was given horror diagnosis

Michelle Monaghan, 42, from North Belfast, had two thirds of her stomach removed after being diagnosed with cancer following months of what she believed was acid reflux

A mum-of-two is urging people to "trust their instincts" after she underwent surgery to remove two-thirds of her stomach upon discovering she had cancer - having initially mistaken her symptoms for acid reflux.

Michelle Monaghan returned home from holiday in Turkey at the end of July last year and started to develop what she thought was strong acid reflux that would burn her throat and leave her in a lot of pain. She started taking natural remedies that she purchased in an effort to deal with the problem, however, it continued to persist over the next six months, with Michelle losing three and a half stone.

During this time she went to A&E and was scheduled for an endoscopy and went to her GP a couple of days after Christmas asking for help and was given medicine to deal with her acid reflux and also requested a stool sample, which found that she was passing a lot of blood and she was scheduled for a colonoscopy in January.

She had been told that it could take four to six weeks for the results of this to return, but 11 days later she was called and asked to come and see a doctor at Belfast City Hospital. She received the life-changing news that she had a rare, advanced and aggressive form of stomach cancer and would require urgent surgery to have a tumour removed, reports Belfast Live.

The surgery took place a few days later on February 2, and following this Michelle was told that a tumour close to the size of the consultant's fist had been removed from her stomach, with the surgery also leading her to lose most of the organ.

After recovering for a few months she then underwent months of preventive chemotherapy with her cancer going into remission at the end of the summer of 2024.

Speaking to Belfast Live, Michelle praised all of the doctors, nurses and healthcare workers at Belfast City Hospital for their dedication during her treatment, saying that she would not be here without them.

She said: "When I went in to see the doctor in February I knew that I was not going to get good news but I had no idea that I was going to be told that I had a rare and aggressive form of stomach cancer, which is normally most common in men aged 50 and above."

"After receiving the news I felt like I was in a daze and I am just thankful that I had such amazing support from my family, friends and all of the healthcare staff at Belfast City Hospital who were simply incredible during my time there."

"The past few months have been very tough, particularly on my two young boys, and while my life has been changed forever, I am glad that I am still here with them."

"I now want to warn others to trust their instincts if they believe that something is wrong and to fight until they get the answers that they need. I thought that I was just having bad acid reflux but as the months went on and my weight dropped rapidly I knew there was more to it and I know that I did the right thing pushing doctors to carry out extra tests because who knows where I would be if I didn't."