'Devoted' Special Needs Teacher Has Stage 4 Colon Cancer — After Being Told Tumor Was Benign
Karen Kennerley assumed her fatigue was from working so hard — now the mom is trying to raise money for treatment to treat stage 4 cancer
Karen Kennerley / SWNS
Karen Kennerley gives a thumbs-up while undergoing treatment for cancer.A special education teacher and mom of two is trying to raise funds or a last-chance treatment to stop the spread of stage 4 colon cancer — which less than three years ago manifested as simple exhaustion.
Karen Kennerley, 57, first started experiencing extreme fatigue in December 2022, but when she sought medical care, blood tests indicated that she likely had an iron deficiency. Still, her doctor advised her to get a colonoscopy, just to be on the safe side.
“I worked in a small school for special educational needs pupils, and I was working really hard at the time — I was exhausted,” Kennerley, who hails from the English county of Lancashire, said, according to The Daily Mail. “Everyone was telling me I was fit and healthy, that there was nothing to worry about but they were doing the tests to rule things out.”
Karen Kennerley / SWNS
Karen Kennerley with her husband Craig.The colonoscopy revealed a tumor in her colon but she was told it was benign. It wasn’t until she underwent a procedure to remove it in May 2023 that a surgeon thought it looked “suspicious.”
It turned out to be malignant, Kennerley was told; the benign diagnosis was due to a “sampling error."
“I was devastated from being told that I was benign to then being told I have stage three colon cancer,” she said, according to the outlet. “There were so many emotions. I was obviously devastated and then horrifically scared.”
That June, she had surgery to remove the tumor and parts of her large intestine, followed by chemotherapy. But in March 2024, the mom of two was rushed to the hospital with abdominal pain for suspected appendicitis. Scans discovered her cancer had spread to her ovaries and abdominal wall.
Karen Kennerley / SWNS
Karen Kennerley with her husband Craig.Related: This Refrigerator Staple Might Lower a Woman's Risk of Colorectal Cancer, New Study Says
While undergoing a total hysterectomy, “the surgeon looked at my liver and was not happy with how it felt or looked,” she said, adding that another scan showed the cancer had indeed spread to her liver.
Kennerley is now struggling to find ways to continue treatment, as she’s said she’s been offered “palliative chemo” that may keep it from spreading, but not destroy the cancer. She’s been paying out-of-pocket for chemotherapy in Germany, but says she’s run out of money.
“The results I have had so far show that the tumours have shrunk nicely but I still need further treatment. I am now out of money,” said Kennerley, whose children, Jade and Jordan, have set up a GoFundMe to help pay medical bills. ”The mental torment is horrendous," she said, "worrying about not working, worrying about how I will fund the treatment.”
“People with stage four cancer feel totally abandoned,” Kennerley said. “I want to change that, not only for me, but for everyone else going through this.”
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