Loughborough MP 'eternally grateful' to medics who treated cancer

Jane Hunt MP's tumour was removed using robotics technology

An MP says she is "eternally grateful" to medics after confirming she is now in remission from bowel cancer.

Jane Hunt, Conservative MP for Loughborough in Leicestershire, had "very few" symptoms before a tumour the size of a satsuma was discovered during a colonoscopy in July.

Mrs Hunt, 57, underwent surgery and three months of chemotherapy.

She thanked her surgical team, all of whom were constituents, who "supported me in those scary moments".

The MP had an operation to remove the tumour at Leicester General Hospital. It was carried out "by state-of-the-art robotics technology" and a surgeon "who referred to himself as a plumber".

Mrs Hunt said: "I had presumed that the few symptoms I had were irritable bowel syndrome. I was later told I probably had the cancer for up to 10 years and I am very lucky it was discovered and successfully treated."

'Tough moments'

Mrs Hunt then underwent three months of chemotherapy at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

"When I got to the operating theatre, I found out all the surgical team were my constituents," she said.

"They supported me in those scary moments and ultimately saved my life. I'll always be eternally grateful for the dedicated expert care I received.

"There were some tough moments. Not everyone has the same symptoms from chemo, but I struggled with nausea and I found the chemo actually harder to deal with than the operation."

Mrs Hunt - who was elected as MP in 2019 - said she had been voting by proxy while away but "it was not the same", and described a day in November when she "dragged" herself to Westminster for a debate.

But she said "it was too much, too soon" and set back her recovery.

Mrs Hunt thanked her husband Tim and her family for their support, as well as her own parliamentary team who kept her informed "every step of the way".

According to statistics from Cancer Research UK, one in 20 females in the UK will be diagnosed with bowel cancer in their lifetimes. The charity says bowel cancer survival has more than doubled in the last 50 years in the UK.