‘I had breasts removed to treat cancer then almost died of sepsis from implants’

A woman who had her breast removed following an aggressive form of cancer ended up in a coma after getting replacement implants.

Liz Gooch underwent a double mastectomy to stop the disease from spreading.

But after having breast implants fitted 12 months on from her initial diagnosis, she fell gravely ill after being struck down with sepsis .

Doctors told her devastated parents that she may only have 24 hours to live after the infection threatened to shut down all her organs.

“Having sepsis was honestly worse than my cancer diagnosis,” said Liz, 41.

“At least with my cancer diagnosis I felt more prepared and knew what treatment I needed. With sepsis it all happened so fast and it was really terrifying.”

Liz, from Pontypridd, said she went to her GP three years ago after noticing a suspicious lump in her left breast.

“I honestly didn’t think it was anything serious. I wasn’t worried at all,” she added. “I’m normally quite a negative person but I was positive I was going to be fine.”

After being referred to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant for a mammogram and biopsy, she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer and discovered she was a carrier of the BRCA1 cancer gene.

People with this particular gene have a far higher chance of developing aggressive breast and ovarian cancers.

After she was diagnosed, Liz said: “It felt like someone else was taking over my life. Everyone else was crying but I was just going through it. It was very, very strange.”

Following chemotherapy at Velindre Cancer Hospital in Cardiff, Liz had both breasts removed 12 months apart from one another. She then went under the knife again to have breast implants inserted.

“I was really pleased with them. Surgeons said it was one of the best [implant operations] they had ever seen.”

But around a month after feeling intense pain in her left side Liz became very unwell at home just days before she was due to go on holiday to Turkey.

“I was up all night shivering and vomiting. My mother said she didn’t like the look of it so I went to hospital,” she said.

“The last thing I can remember is someone saying I needed to be taken into surgery.”

Liz, a payroll assistant, was in a coma for three days as medics tried to stop the sepsis from claiming her life.

“I had sepsis, E. coli, a chest infection and a bowel infection,” she added.

“It was really touch and go and my parents were told I only had 24 hours to live.

“I was in hospital for two weeks and then it took me a further three or four months before I made a full recovery and could go back to work. I was very, very lucky.”

Liz said she had the implants removed and now uses a prosthetic instead.

“The doctors at the Royal Glamorgan have been absolutely incredible. They saved my life.”

She is now looking forward to the future and is getting married to partner Wayne in May next year.

“I have bought my wedding dress which was quite an emotional experience as I wasn’t sure how I’d look with the prosthetic but I love the dress and I can’t wait to get married now.”

After making a full recovery Liz is now set to take part in Cancer Research UK’s 10k night-time walk in Cardiff on Saturday, October 19.

More than 1,200 people have already signed up to the event which will see men, women and children “uniting through light” to raise money for lifesaving research.

Liz, who has been chosen as the event’s VIP, said: “It’s an honour to be sending participants over the start line at Cardiff’s Shine event as well as taking part myself.

“I know just how vital research is and how much we need better, kinder treatments for the disease, so I hope people sign up and join me at Shine to support this brilliant cause.”