Reija’s journey
Diagnosed with womb cancer at 42. Now, six years on, Reija is living life to the fullest.
In March 2019, my life changed forever.
I had noticed some changes to my periods. They had become a lot heavier and painful. I had also started getting lower back pain and feeling tired all the time.
I went to see my GP who referred me to a gynaecologist for further investigation. I was given an ultrasound which revealed there were abnormalities, and after a biopsy I was diagnosed with womb cancer. It was stage 3c at that time which meant it had spread from the womb to the surrounding lymph nodes.
I’d had quite a bad feeling about everything in the lead up to my diagnosis so when I got told what my results were, I was half expecting it to be bad news. Being told you have cancer is so hard to process, it’s always going to be a shocking thing to hear and one of my first thoughts was how was I going to tell my parents.
I had a hysterectomy at St George’s Hospital to remove my womb, ovaries, fallopian tubes and lymph nodes, as the cancer had spread. The surgery was intense but went well.
I was then referred to The Royal Marsden, where I underwent seven months of treatment under the care of Dr Susan Lalondrelle. I had six sessions of chemotherapy (Carboplatin and Paclitaxel), followed by 25 sessions of external radiotherapy and two sessions of brachytherapy—an internal radiotherapy. Brachytherapy sounds scarier than it is: it’s actually painless and quick.
What really struck me about The Royal Marsden is how thorough everything was. I had problems with my platelet levels, and they sent me for further investigation and genetic tests. I’m quite young to be diagnosed with this type of cancer and the genetic tests showed that I’ve got Lynch Syndrome, which puts me at risk of certain cancers including womb cancer.
Despite everything, I felt incredibly lucky to be treated at The Royal Marsden. Knowing I was in the hands of specialists at one of the best cancer hospitals in the world was deeply reassuring. The care I received was outstanding—every staff member was kind, positive, and went out of their way to make me feel safe and supported. I can’t praise them enough.
I finished treatment in November 2019, and now, in 2025, I’m so happy to say that I remain in remission- six years cancer free.
Last year marked a major milestone: five years since treatment, which also meant the end of my womb cancer follow-ups. I’ve now been officially signed off from those appointments, although I still have regular colonoscopies because of the Lynch syndrome. I just had one recently, and all is well.
After everything, my husband and I felt we needed a change of scenery, so we moved back to Finland and have now been living in Rovaniemi, the official home of Santa, for four years!
I also started a blog to raise awareness about womb cancer and share my experience: wordsworkandwobbles.substack.com
Since my diagnosis, I’ve wanted to raise awareness around womb cancer because it’s not as well known. I’d had symptoms for a lot longer than I realised but had no idea they were related to womb cancer. It’s so important to catch cancers early, when your chance of successful treatment is higher, so the more people know about what to look out for and when to visit the GP, the better.
In 2022, we took on an epic challenge to give back. My husband and I cycled 5,560 km from Finland to Spain, raising over £1,700 for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
We had originally planned to start the ride in Norway, but COVID restrictions meant we had to adjust. It was tough at times, like when we had to sleep at a bus stop during a storm in France, but also one of the best experiences of our lives. We met so many wonderful people, and it was exciting to wake up in a different place every day.
“I finished treatment in November 2019—six years ago now, which sounds crazy. It doesn’t feel that long ago at all. I am so lucky I got treated at The Royal Marsden. It was such a reassuring thought during the whole ordeal to know I am looked after by doctors at the top of their specialism and at one of the best cancer hospitals in the world.”