After being denied appointments by two different general practitioners, a mother of two was devastated to learn she had one of the deadliest illnesses and was given just six months to live.
In early 2022, Sibylle Schwarz, a German software developer living in Leyland, Lancashire, initially dismissed her symptoms as a common cold.
Believing that her young daughter and newborn son had picked up a nursery bug, she assumed she had caught the same illness.
Trusting her symptoms would eventually subside, she carried on as usual. However, when her condition persisted for several months, she grew increasingly concerned.
Nearly a year after first falling ill, the 40-year-old mother was shocked to learn that her persistent cough was not a lingering winter cold but a symptom of something far more serious, oesophageal cancer. Doctors gave her a prognosis of just six to twelve months to live.
After being turned away by two GP receptionists who dismissed her concerns, a mother of two was devastated to learn she had one of the deadliest cancers, and was given just six months to live.
In early 2022, Sibylle Schwarz, a German software developer living in Leyland, Lancashire, initially believed she had nothing more than a common cold. She assumed she had caught a nursery bug from her young daughter and newborn son and expected her symptoms to pass.
But as the months went by, her condition worsened. A persistent cough and difficulty swallowing left her increasingly concerned. Despite her symptoms, when she sought medical attention, she was dismissed twice by GP receptionists.
On her first attempt to see a doctor, she was sent away with anti-sickness pills and told to visit a pharmacy. When she returned two weeks later, she was once again told to go to the pharmacy, forcing her to plead for an appointment with a GP.
Even after finally securing a consultation, it took another four months, and multiple delays, before she underwent the necessary tests. By then, the 40-year-old mother was given devastating news: she had oesophageal cancer, one of the least curable forms of the disease, and her prognosis was just six to twelve months.
“I went back to the GP in June, and there was a different receptionist, but she also told me to go to the pharmacy,” Ms. Schwarz recalled. “I told her I really, really needed to see a doctor, and she finally booked me in for an appointment.”
At the appointment, the GP initially downplayed her concerns but agreed to schedule her for an endoscopy, though she was placed on a non-urgent waiting list. Two months later, she received a call about the test. By that time, she could no longer swallow food.
Due to still nursing her infant son, Ms. Schwarz was unable to be sedated for the procedure, leading to yet another delay. By the time she finally had the endoscopy in late October, her health had deteriorated significantly.
“I lost 25 kilos in four months,” she said. “I was in a very bad state. I couldn’t eat, I was losing my hair, my iron levels were dangerously low.”
She later learned that doctors only prioritized her case because of her extreme weight loss. “The surgeon told me they wouldn’t have put me down for an endoscopy if I hadn’t lost so much weight. They didn’t believe me when I said I couldn’t eat.”
When the test was finally performed, the results were devastating.
“After the endoscopy, the surgeon apologized for being so presumptuous,” she said. “She told me I had cancer. It was quite advanced, and I might only have six to twelve months to live.”
What she initially assumed was a simple winter cold turned out to be a symptom of one of the least survivable cancers.
“I didn’t know that a cough was a symptom,” she admitted.
Oesophageal cancer is notoriously difficult to detect early because its symptoms such as persistent cough, difficulty swallowing, and heartburn are often mistaken for minor digestive issues. As a result, many cases go undiagnosed until the disease has significantly progressed.
Tragically, fewer than 20% of people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in the UK survive for more than five years. Data from Digestive Cancers Europe, analyzed by Action Against Heartburn, highlights that the UK has one of the highest rates of the disease in Europe—14.2 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 3.5 in Italy, 4.4 in Spain, 7.0 in France, and 7.7 in Germany.
Ms. Schwarz was in shock when she received her diagnosis.
“I was diagnosed the day before my daughter’s seventh birthday,” she said. “My first thought was that I wouldn’t see her turn eight.”
She was also unfamiliar with the severity of her illness. “I knew about pancreatic cancer because my father died from it, but I had never heard of oesophageal cancer,” she admitted. “When I got home, I Googled it and saw how bad it really was.”
Because of the aggressive nature of her cancer, doctors rushed her into scans and treatment.
Six weeks after her diagnosis, she began chemotherapy in an attempt to shrink the tumor before surgery. But heartbreakingly, the treatment wasn’t working as hoped.
“Unfortunately, the chemotherapy wasn’t really helpful,” she said. “At first, it shrank the tumor a little, and I could eat again. But then it started growing back. Eventually, I needed a feeding tube I couldn’t even swallow water anymore.”
Her surgeon was pessimistic about the possibility of surgery. “She told me she wasn’t sure if she could remove the tumor,” Ms. Schwarz recalled.
But despite the bleak outlook, she was determined to try.
“I said, ‘If you can’t remove it, just close me up again. But I want you to try. I’d rather die than not try.’”
Against the odds, the surgery was successful.
Now, more than two years after being told she had just months to live, Ms. Schwarz is adjusting to life post-treatment.
She even got married in December 2022, just two months after her diagnosis.
“I feel fine now,” she said. “I can eat most things again smaller portions, of course but I have energy, and I can take care of my kids.”
As she approaches her 40th birthday, she’s grateful for every day she gets with her family.
“Yesterday, someone asked me what my five-year plan was,” she shared. “As a cancer patient, you don’t like to think that far ahead. But in five years, my son will be eight, my daughter will be a teenager. It would be great if life just stayed the same, if everybody stayed healthy.”
During her battle with cancer, her children were her biggest motivation.
“I always thought about my kids,” she said. “My daughter had already been through a lot—moving from Germany to the UK, losing her friends. I didn’t want her to lose her mother, too.”
“And then there was my son, who was just a baby. He was such a ray of sunshine in my life. They helped me survive.”
Now, Ms. Schwarz is determined to raise awareness about oesophageal cancer and encourage others to advocate for their health.
Her advice to fellow patients? “Push harder.”
“You always have to be the ‘bad patient,’” she said. “You have to push and advocate for yourself. I was never that person, I always waited my turn. But if I had known better, I might have been diagnosed sooner.”
She remains deeply grateful to the surgeon who ultimately saved her life.
“I will never stop thanking her,” she said. “Even though she was pessimistic and wasn’t convinced she could help, she listened to me in the end. Her skills and determination saved my life.”
In August 2023, she launched a monthly cancer support group to provide a safe space for others facing similar battles.
“I’m not a charity, the NHS, or any official organization,” she explained. “I just want to offer a safe space for everybody who needs it.”
Despite everything, Ms. Schwarz is focused on the present and on making the most of the time she has with her loved ones.
