Paula Hudgell — the inspiring mom who captured hearts across Britain for adopting and fighting for justice for her severely abused son, Tony — is now fighting her own heartbreaking battle.
The 56-year-old mother, who was honored with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2022 for her work preventing child abuse, revealed she was dismissed by doctors 14 times before finally being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer.
“I knew something wasn’t right..”
For many Brits, Paula Hudgell is a familiar face.
She and her husband, Mark, adopted Tony Hudgell, now 11, after he was horrifically abused by his biological parents as a baby. Tony was just six weeks old when he suffered such severe injuries that both of his legs had to be amputated.
Thanks to the medical staff and his foster parents, Tony was able to survive.
”I can’t remember a case where the level of care has been higher than this… because as you know baby Tony was seconds away from death when he arrived at the doctors surgery,” Judge Philip Statman shared after sentencing Tony’s birth parents, Jody Simpson and Anthony Smith, to prison in 2018.
The Hudgells fostered Tony when he was just a baby, and officially adopted him in 2016. But while Paula poured her life into giving Tony a future, her own health quietly began to deteriorate.
“I knew something wasn’t right, so I made an appointment with the GP, but was told it was IBS,” Paula told The Mirror.
“I kept going back, but my symptoms would last for three or four weeks and then settle down, so I thought maybe the GPs were right.”
Diarrhea and constipation
She had been suffering from bouts of diarrhea and constipation for years — symptoms that were repeatedly brushed off.
“I got used to my symptoms,” she said, “but then, after four years, I was on the loo and it was almost like my late mom spoke to me and I called the GP with the grit I’d have used if one of the kids was ill and said, ‘I need an appointment today.’”
“I went with a different attitude and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Paula said seeing bowel cancer awareness ads on TV pushed her to demand a test. “I’d started seeing the bowel cancer adverts on TV and demanded they test a stool sample. I knew deep down something was wrong, but I was so busy being a mom I put my problems on the back burner.”
When the results came back in 2022, her cancer markers were “through the roof.” Just weeks later, doctors confirmed the devastating diagnosis: bowel cancer.
Paula, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy, recently revealed that the disease has returned and spread, and is now terminal.
One last surgery
Still, she’s considering one last major surgery that could buy her more time with Tony.
“It involves cutting me open from the sternum to the pelvis, removing as much of the stomach lining as possible and flooding my stomach with chemo for up to an hour before flushing it out,” she explained.
“This operation is horrific. But if it gives me a little longer, I’ll do it because every extra day I get to be here for Tony is worth any amount of pain.”
“My prognosis has affected the entire family’s mental health. It’s hard for all of us to get our heads around, but I’m trying to prepare them as much as possible.
Each year, about 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer — so it’s something that affects many people, including those who seem healthy.
If you ever feel that something isn’t right, trust yourself and see a doctor to get your symptoms checked.
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