Mum with bowel cancer says Manchester Airport security treated her ‘like a villain’ when her stoma bag set off an alarm

A mother whose sudden stomach pain turned out to be bowel cancer said she was “humiliated” and treated “like a villain” by Manchester Airport security staff when her stoma bag set off an alarm.

Kelly Grigg, 39, from Cornwall, was eagerly counting down to a family holiday for her husband Matthew’s 40th birthday when she woke up on July 9 with stomach pain that worsened throughout the day.

At first, she thought she might be suffering from a hernia or appendicitis but, after speaking with her GP the same day, she was rushed to hospital where scans revealed severe inflammation in her abdomen.

During surgery the next day, doctors discovered a tumour on her bowel and she woke up with a stoma bag fitted.

Three weeks later she was diagnosed with bowel cancer, learning the pain she initially felt was the cancer bursting through her bowel wall.

In August, Kelly took her daughters, Adele, 10, and Georgia, six, to a Manchester United match, but said she was “humiliated” by her treatment at Manchester Airport on the journey home – she claims she was treated as if she was a “druggie” by airport staff as her stoma bag set off an alarm.

The airport said the security screening was conducted “in accordance with the standards set by the Civil Aviation Authority” but “normal standards of customer service were not met”, issuing an apology.

Despite undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy, the cancer has spread to her ovaries and she is awaiting a decision on whether doctors will operate to remove the cancer and perform a hysterectomy. If they cannot, she said her cancer will be terminal.

Kelly, who previously worked as a family solicitor, told PA Real Life: “I obviously beeped when I went through the machine because of the stoma.

“They wouldn’t let me go in my bag to get the travel certificate that they give you when you travel with a stoma.

“They basically took me away as if I were a druggie… they were really cruel.

“I had a maxi dress on, and I had to lift that up and show them the stoma bag.

“A nurse had previously advised me to put a mint in the bag to keep it smelling nice.

“On inspection they spotted the mint and clearly thought it was a drug.

“They were really, really horrible – they did treat me like a villain.

“They didn’t check if I was with anybody.

“Luckily, I was with my mum and my husband, so they could care for the children, but otherwise they would have been on their own.”

In July, Kelly was getting “very excited” about her family holiday to Portugal to celebrate her husband’s 40th birthday.

But on July 9, she woke up at 2.30am with stomach pain and by the afternoon it was “excruciating” and she was “in agony”.

She thought she may have appendicitis or a hernia, so booked a same-day GP appointment, where she was told to go straight to hospital.

Kelly arrived at Royal Cornwall Hospital and underwent a CT scan the following morning, which revealed a large amount of inflammation in her abdomen.

“They said they hoped it was blood causing it, but they needed to give me keyhole surgery to flush the blood out, and then they’d be able to see what was going on,” Kelly explained.

“They told me in the worst-case scenario I’d wake up with a stoma bag.”

When she awoke, she looked down and the “first thing” she saw was a stoma bag, and doctors said they “hope it will be reversible in the future”.

The following day, Kelly and her husband were told that, during surgery, doctors had discovered a tumour on her sigmoid colon – the S-shaped final part of the large intestine leading into the rectum – and had taken a biopsy to determine whether it was cancerous.

She said the doctors explained that even if it was not cancer, she would still require “aggressive chemotherapy” to reduce the inflammation.

“At that point, I heard chemotherapy and just thought the worst,” she said.

While recovering from surgery on the ward, Kelly initially found herself surrounded by elderly patients and felt “quite lonely”, until she met a woman in her 30s who also had a stoma bag.

She explained: “We got chatting and she just gave me the strength and the determination that I was going to be able to do it myself, and that there is nothing to be worried about.”

Kelly was discharged a few days later and had to wait three weeks for the biopsy results.

She was subsequently diagnosed with T4 bowel cancer, meaning the tumour had grown through the outer layer of the bowel wall and into the tissue covering the bowel and nearby organs.

Kelly added: “Doctors said the pain I felt on July 9 was the cancer bursting through my bowel wall – they think I’ve had cancer and been living with it for ages, but that day was when it got so big that it burst through the wall.

“We were expecting it and my six-year-old doesn’t really understand it, but she turns off the telly when any cancer adverts come on.

“My 10-year-old really struggled – it wasn’t tears or anything but she would kick off about things she wouldn’t normally get annoyed at.”

Kelly was due to begin chemotherapy around a week later, but delayed treatment by a few days to take her daughters to Manchester to watch the Red Devils play.

The family flew from Newquay Airport and, on their return on August 18, Kelly said Manchester Airport security staff were “absolutely awful”.

When Kelly “clearly got upset”, she said a manager abruptly told her the staff were “just doing their job”.

“I just said to them, ‘I hope that no female in your family is treated this way’ and left it at that,” Kelly explained.

“I was so humiliated and I complained to them, and I felt they didn’t care when they responded – it was awful.”

A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “We are committed to making sure all passengers feel respected and supported throughout their journey while at the same time meeting necessarily strict security standards.

“Although these two priorities can sometimes be hard to balance it is never our intention to make passengers feel uncomfortable.

“Having reviewed the incident we can confirm that the security screening in question was conducted in accordance with the standards set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), although it is clear that some of our normal standards of customer service were not met and we apologise for that.”

On returning to Cornwall, Kelly began chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and after finishing treatment in October, she underwent another CT scan which revealed her tumour had stayed the same size and the cancer had spread to her ovaries.

As a result, she was referred to the Peritoneal Malignancy Institute in Basingstoke.

Her first consultation is on December 29 to determine whether doctors are “willing to operate” to remove the tumour and perform a hysterectomy.

If surgery is not an option, she said her cancer will be terminal.

“I’m a very positive individual but behind closed doors I get emotional and I can have a lack of tolerance and be angry,” she added.

Her husband and eight friends are set to cycle from St Stephens to Land’s End and back to raise funds for Bowel Cancer UK.

At the time of publication, they had raised £4,600.

Kelly said: “It’s a great feeling knowing that people care and are helping raise money towards the charity – I had no symptoms apart from the stomach pain and I think it’s important people know this can happen.”

Pascale Harvie, president and general manager of JustGiving, said: “Kelly’s commitment to raising vital funds and awareness for Bowel Cancer UK is truly inspiring.

“We wish her the best of luck in her fundraising journey and will be cheering on the entire team for their sponsored cycle in April.”

To donate to the fundraiser, visit: www.justgiving.com/page/kelly-grigg-100-mile-cycle.