Nicola Crymble was repeatedly told her symptoms were linked to perimenopause and anxiety
Nicola Crymble, pictured with husband Andrew, are desperate for help(Image: Nicola & Andrew Crymble / SWNS)
A mum says months of bleeding, swelling and pain were repeatedly put down to perimenopause and anxiety. Doctors eventually worked out that she was living with one of the rarest cancers ever recorded.
Nicola Crymble, 43, from Annalong in County Down, first became unwell after having a copper contraceptive coil fitted in February 2024. She said she began suffering heavy bleeding and severe pain while doing mission work in Kenya, and the coil was later removed.
After she returned home to Northern Ireland, Nicola claims she was told her symptoms were likely linked to perimenopause, and that anxiety may have been making her worries worse. But the bleeding, discomfort and swelling continued for months, leaving her exhausted and increasingly convinced something more serious was wrong.
In December 2024 — around 10 months after the symptoms began — Nicola and her husband Andrew went to A&E. Nicola said her abdomen had swollen so much that strangers assumed she was pregnant.
Nicola Crymble began suffering heavy bleeding and severe pain
She was initially told it could be constipation, but scans later showed a growth on her cervix, the Irish Mirror reports. Nicola said she was then reassured it was probably a cyst and expected to have surgery quickly.
However, after further delays she was placed on an emergency list. On 14 February 2025 — almost a year on from when she first became ill — Nicola underwent a full pelvic clearance. Her ovaries and fallopian tubes were removed, along with the mass.
Tests later confirmed she had a cancer called FATWO (Female Adnexal Tumour of Probable Wolffian Origin). Nicola and Andrew were told it is among the rarest cancers in the world, with only around 150 cases recorded since 1973.
FATWO is usually treated with surgery and there is little evidence it responds to chemotherapy. Despite the operation, Nicola said she still felt unwell and feared her ongoing symptoms were again being dismissed as anxiety, as well as the effects of surgical menopause.
Nicola Crymble was told her symptoms were “in her head” (Image: Nicola & Andrew Crymble / SWNS)
Ahead of her six-month check-up, Nicola developed sudden, severe pain in her ribcage. More scans showed the cancer had spread — something understood to happen in a small number of cases — and tumours were found in her liver and in the vaginal vault.
Doctors said surgery is not possible because of where the tumours are. Nicola has now started chemotherapy in the hope it will help.
The mum-of-three said the impact on family life has been huge — from missing school runs to trying to protect her children from the reality of treatment, including choosing to cut her hair before it began to fall out.
She said: “You’re never the same after a cancer diagnosis. Every ache and pain you just assume the cancer’s back. The unknown is just terrifying. It’s so, so scary.”
Nicola and Andrew are now appealing for information and support, saying the extreme rarity of the condition has left them searching for specialist help. They have also set up a GoFundMe page and launched a “£5 challenge” fundraiser to help secure their children’s financial future after discovering an issue with Nicola’s life insurance.