After Corby’s test, she had a procedure to remove small polyp growths and an operation was planned to remove a larger growth.
She agreed to participate in a training programme where her surgery would be streamed to surgeons around the world, but when doctors saw the growth they “all agreed” it looked like cancer and could not be removed that day.
Surgeons at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate removed the tumour and 12in (30cm) of Corby’s bowel at a separate time in October.
“I felt so grateful because my cancer hadn’t spread and was caught early, so I didn’t need to have chemotherapy or any other treatment,” she said.
Despite having her temporary stoma removed early after it caused “muscular spasm pain and vomiting, including vomiting up bowel products” after being rejected by her body, Corby said the “positive outcome kept me going”.
She said: “All the way through the team have been fantastic: the surgeons, the stoma team, the nurses, and everyone else who has been supporting me.”