A 29-year-old woman who has been diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer is looking for help to try and get Taylor Swift’s ‘22’ hat at her concert next week.
Chloe Stirling, from Eccleston, is a nurse at St Helens Walk in Centre.
She started getting reflux in November, which at the time she thought was down to weight loss medication she was taking.
After the issue didn’t subside though, she went to A&E who found nothing wrong with her, and she instead pushed for her GP to send her for an endoscopy which found an ulcer.
She had treatment for the ulcer and six weeks later a biopsy was taken, the results of which found that she had a rare stomach cancer called – poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with signet ring cells.
She has been sharing her story on TikTok in a bid to raise awareness of stomach cancer and the signs.
Speaking to the Star, Chloe said: “I think in hindsight I’ve probably had cancer a while and not known, but when I got the reflux, and it wasn’t going away I knew from my background that it didn’t sound right.
“I even said to my GP, ‘I feel like I have cancer or something’ and was told categorically that I was too young to have stomach cancer.
“But I’m not. I have been diagnosed with stage two cancer and have to have four rounds of chemotherapy before having my stomach removed before having another four rounds of chemo.
“Apparently most people with stomach cancers don’t get diagnosed in enough time to get treatment, I think others in my situation may have taken Gaviscon for reflux legitimately hoping it would help and the cause would have been missed.
“My cancer is really aggressive and has high chances of coming back so I want to raise awareness.”
Chloe is set to marry fiancée Amy Hall next year and has other long-term goals and holiday plans keeping her going.
But a short-term ambition whilst on her third round of chemotherapy, is trying to get the attention of Taylor Swift.
Quattro's Italian Restaurant, just outside of Rainford, is joining in her bid to be noticed, having shared a post on their social media about Chloe's story.
She explains: “I am a huge Swifty and I’m having a difficult time at the moment but I’m going to the concert [at Anfield on June 15], I don’t want to miss it.
“I know that on stage at each concert during her song 22, she invites one person to the stage and gives them her hat she wears during that performance.
“I am going through a lot, and it's just a small thing but it would really cheer me up during all of this to get the hat. It would give me a much-needed boost while I fight this.
"I want to thank Quattros as well, my first job at 16 was there and I'm really grateful they shared this.”
Chloe is sharing her journey on TikTok and is urging the public to tag both Taylor Swift and anyone who is in her close circle so she can be alerted to her story.
To watch Chloe’s video and follow her TikTok go to https://www.tiktok.com/@clostirlingx/video/7376209254895602977?_r=1&_t=8mv5sQ3O7zF
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