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Phillippa Hentsch wants to raise awareness of genetic links to womb cancer (Image: Phillippa Hentsch) Phillippa Hentsch is apprehensive about sharing the story of her cancer journey, and her hesitation is understandable. It is deeply personal and at points painful, and there is no happily ever after ending. “Many days are still a struggle, but I have to be optimistic because I know that knowledge is power,” says the 37-year-old, who continues to face difficult decisions about her care with the support of her “amazing” husband Matt, and Alba, a soft-eyed red Labrador with an uncanny ability to sense when she is struggling.

Phillippa was diagnosed with cancer of the womb when she was just 36, which is unusual. Like many cancers, this form of the disease is caused by accumulated DNA damage, so only four in 100,000 women her age develop uterine or endometrial cancer, as it’s also known. Cancer was the last thing on the radar when Phillippa, an NHS manager, and civil engineer Matt, 38, began trying for a baby three years ago.



After struggling to conceive, and the heartache of several early losses, the couple, from Birmingham, turned to fertility treatment. But when it was time to implant one of their embryos, Phillippa’s specialist noticed something wasn’t quite right. “They found polyps, which are quite common and the vast majority are benign.

” Initially it seemed like good news, as this might have explained her infertility, so there was a good chance that remov.

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