Margaret Sherwood

In July 2023, Margaret Sherwood (63) from Dunoon, Argyll was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of cancer that affects the bile ducts in the body.

As a rare cancer, and with no history of cancer in her family, Margaret had no idea the seriousness of her condition at first.

Margaret shared:

It all started with a persistent itch in April last year. In places that don’t normally get itchy, like my hands and feet. I’d had covid around that time, and thought it was an off shoot of that, but it wasn’t the only symptom I experienced.

After a rash appeared on her midriff, Margaret then noticed her urine appeared to be discoloured, alongside the persisting itch.

Margaret said:

I knew right then I had to go to my local GP practice – I thought, if it’s not normal for your body, it’s not normal and so I made an appointment for my GP.

Blood tests were taken to help identify the cause of the symptoms. The tests showed an issue with her liver and Margaret’s GP knew there was something very wrong.

Margaret was referred to an urgent clinic at Inverclyde Royal Hospital. Once there, Margaret had several diagnostic tests including a CT scan that showed a tumour in her distal bile duct. Margaret was then referred to the specialist team at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Further tests showed that the tumour had not spread anywhere, and the specialist team determined surgery was the optimal treatment.

However, before surgery could take place, Margaret started to be really jaundiced and became septic, so the surgery was delayed due to issues with her kidneys which had been affected by the infection.

Despite the complications, a few weeks later once she recovered, Margaret underwent a complex nine hour operation which was successful.

Everyone was really helpful and totally professional at each stage of my journey. I felt I was being managed optimally throughout treatment, and the clinical teams were absolutely wonderful. The whole process from the first itch to my surgery only took a matter of weeks – early detection was so important in how well everything went for me. I feel very lucky that my cancer was caught at an early stage and that I have been looked after so well.

Just recently, I’ve been able to spend lots of time with my wee grandson who was born in April, visited my son in Colorado in the United States, and followed the Scotland national football team to the 2024 Euros in Germany.

I’ve also started an evening class in joinery that I’m attending with my daughter and plan on starting a gardening and horticulture course with the UHI (University of the Highlands and Islands) in the new year. Take it from me – you really can live well.

My advice to others is if it’s unusual for your body, get it checked – there might be something simple causing the symptoms or like me, it could be more serious but the earlier you get diagnosed, the more options there will be for treatment. The outlook is better, and it means better news to tell your family, and many more experiences you’ll get to have with them.

The information in this case study, including ages, are current as of the drafting date.