I thought struggling to pee was down to a UTI – it was cancer & I had to have my vagina reconstructed with my bum cheek
A YOUNG woman who thought nothing of her urinary tract infection was later told she in fact had cancer and thought she might die.
Katie Arding, 29, had just settled down on the Gold Coast, Australia, with her boyfriend, Rhys Lord, 31, when she suddenly found herself unable to pee.
The hairdresser from Reading, Berkshire, had struggled going to the toilet for months but had put it down to a UTI.
But after going to hospital doctors found a 10cm mass on her pelvis, and following several weeks of testing, Katie was told had sarcoma - a rare tissue cancer.
"I had my anus and rectum removed and my uterus, cervix, both fallopian tubes, and one ovary," Katie said.
"I had a reconstruction of my vaginal wall.
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"They used part of my bum cheek to put inside me to create that wall again."
Katie left to go travelling around South East Asia with Rhys, who works in network infrastructure, in September 2022.
For the four months they were travelling she noticed she would sometimes struggle to urinate but presumed it was a UTI.
She said: "I'd have to really focus and relax to wee.
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"If I sat down too quickly I felt a bit of pressure - like something was swollen inside."
In February 2023 and were on a trip to Noosa, Australia for Rhys' birthday when Katie had to be rushed to hospital.
She said: "We'd been out on the boat for the day.
"Everything was fine and that's suddenly when I wasn't able to go for a wee.
"I was bowled over in pain."
I thought I didn't have much time left
Katie Arding
Katie visited the local hospital and had over 2L of urine drained from her bladder.
Doctors told her if she had left it any longer she would have gone into kidney failure.
She said: "My bladder was so enlarged. My belly looked like I was pregnant."
A CT scan revealed a mass on her pelvis but they were unsure exactly what it was.
Katie returned to the Gold Coast and spent two weeks in hospital getting CT scans, MRIs, X-rays and ultrasounds before they told her they thought it could be cancer.
A biopsy in September 2023 confirmed she had an aggressive case of high-grade pleomorphic spindle cell sarcoma.
Katie said: "I kind of collapsed.
"My whole body just switched off. It was such a shock.
"The fact it was really aggressive topped it off."
12-hour operation
Katie chose to come home for her treatment and was sent to the Royal Marsden Hospital, Chelsea.
She said: "They called me in to have a meeting.
"They said they think part of the tumour is on my bone and they would only be able to treat me with palliative care.
"I thought I didn't have much time left."
Katie had six rounds of chemotherapy before doctors could do a bone biopsy.
Luckily it was benign and she was able to have a 12-hour operation called pelvic exenteration in March 2024 - to remove the tumour on her pelvis and anything that touched it.
In the same operation, she had her vaginal wall removed and reconstructed with part of her bum cheek.
Sarcoma: Everything you need to know
Sarcomas are uncommon cancers that can affect any part of the body, on the inside or outside, including the muscle, bone, tendons, blood vessels and fatty tissues.
15 people are diagnosed with sarcoma every day in the UK, around 5,300 people a year.
There are around 100 different sub-types of sarcoma, including:
- Bone sarcomas
- Soft tissue sarcomas
- Gynaecological sarcomas
- Retroperitoneal sarcomas (in the abdomen and pelvis)
The most common sarcoma is known as GIST.
This develops in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, a long tube running through the body from the oesophagus (gullet) to the anus (back passage) and includes the stomach and intestines.
Sarcomas commonly affect the arms, legs and trunk.
They also appear in the stomach and intestines as well as behind the abdomen (retroperitoneal sarcomas) and the female reproductive system (gynaecological sarcomas).
Source: Sarcoma UK
Katie was also fitted with one stoma bag and couldn't sit down on her bum for six weeks following the surgery.
She then had an emergency surgery in May 2024 after getting a bowel blockage.
'I feel lucky'
Katie has scans every three months to check if the tumour has grown back and has to self-catheterise every day as her bladder was disconnected from her kidney.
She said: "There is a high chance it [the cancer] will come back.
"I have taken it all in my stride.
"I'm proud of my story.
"I'm not ashamed of my body, or of my stoma.
"The surgery was a blessing - I wouldn't be here without it.
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"I feel lucky to have got through it."
Katie is now hoping to start a business to supply affordable customised wigs and give advice to people who have gone through hair loss.
