A CANCER sufferer is doing as much as possible to raise awareness of a rare type which kills around 2,000 people each year.

Sharon Solomon, a 43-year-old mother of two with three step-daughters, was diagnosed with bile duct cancer last March.

The former shop owner said: “I started to feel nauseous and very fatigued all the time. I went to the GP because I started having gall attacks. When they gave me a scan and ran it over my lung, that’s when they found the cancer.

“It was so quick after that. I had a CT scan, an MRI scan, another CT scan and then a PET scan. It just felt like chaos.

“Last April 29, when everyone was celebrating the royal wedding, I was at Southampton General Hospital having the right-hand side of my liver removed.

“I was asked to take part in a clinical trial, which I did, because it meant more scans and tests.

“The operation I had was seven and a half hours long – that in itself was a horrible thing to go through.”

The Wyke Regis resident organised a Golf Day at Wessex Golf Centre on Saturday to raise money for The Alan Morement Memorial Fund – the only charity in the UK funding research into the cancer.

Mrs Solomon wants to raise the profile of the rare cancer to help others seek early diagnosis.

She said: “When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t have a clue what bile duct cancer was.

“I don’t think enough people do.

“But it actually kills more people than cervical cancer.”

She added: “The charity has been a much-needed form of support.

“I just want to do as much as I can for as long as I can to raise money and awareness.”

Mrs Solomon, who is due to begin a course of chemotherapy soon, added: “We are hoping that with the chemo, it will disappear.

“I will have a consultation on April 19 and from there they will decide if I need radiotherapy too.

“It is very hard. Two of my step-daughters are only 17 years old and I know that it’s horrible for them.

“I’ve had so much support from my family and friends and the NHS has been fantastic.”

Mrs Solomon also wanted to thank Wessex Golf Centre, Roberts Food Service, Shirt Shack, South Coast Catering, Bastins and Cococabana Restaurant, Poole.

Illness triggered by bile duct

BILE duct cancer, or cholangiocarcinoma, can occur in any part of the bile ducts.

These allow bile made in the liver to flow into the small intestine.

Bile is a liquid that helps to break down fats in food and the body to get rid of waste material.

The bile duct originates in the liver where smaller tubes drain bile from the cells into larger and larger branches.

The gall bladder holds bile until food reaches the intestines.

It is attached to the bile duct.

Outside the liver, the bile duct drains into the small intestine.

Symptoms of bile duct cancer can be nausea, fatigue, jaundice, weight loss and abdominal pain.

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