- After thinking she may have broken or bruised her rib during a drunken weekend away with friends, Charlotte Morjaria, 31, headed to the hospital where doctors discovered something more sinister was going on
- “In that moment, it was probably the most scared I’ve ever been in my life,” the mother of one told BBC Wales of her diagnosis
- Morjaria was diagnosed with kidney cancer after medics found a sizable cancerous tumor
A 31-year-old British woman has a drunken weekend away with her two best friends to thank for potentially saving her life.
In June, Charlotte Morjaria, who lives in Newport in Wales, headed to a Butlin’s seaside resort in the town of Minehead in Somerset, England, for a girls’ trip, according to BBC Wales.
On the last day of the vacation, the trio joined a bachelor party and were playing a game of tag when one of the men picked Morjaria up and lifted her over his shoulder.
It was then that she heard something “go pop,” but carried on having fun before heading to the hospital the following day once she had returned home to get checked out, thinking she might have broken or bruised a rib, the outlet reported.
“Probably a tad too much drinking, albeit we were having a fantastic time before disaster struck — or you could call it a miracle,” Morjaria, who was 30 at the time of the injury, told BBC Wales.
Once at the hospital, the mother of one learned that her ribs were fine, but medics had discovered a “sizeable” cancerous tumor on her kidney, per the outlet.
Butlins.
Peter Titmuss/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty
“In that moment, it was probably the most scared I’ve ever been in my life,” she said, insisting that she had no idea the tumor — which was 2.5 inches in size — was there.
“They said they’d found a sizeable mass on my left kidney,” said Morjaria, who almost left the hospital’s waiting room several times after having to wait for 22 hours, before her mom and her friend persuaded her to stay.
She was told the tumor was being treated as cancer, which she couldn’t believe, telling the outlet, “The conversation was a strange one, because I thought I was fine. There really weren’t very big tell-tale signs.”
Morjaria — who was sent from The Grange Hospital to nearby Royal Gwent Hospital — ended up being diagnosed with stage one of a rare form of kidney cancer: TFE3 renal cell carcinoma.
She had surgery to have her kidney removed in August of this year, a day before she turned 31.
Morjaria told BBC Wales, “[My consultant] had only heard of one case, it is rare. They didn’t have a lot of information,” adding, “Thankfully it hadn’t spread … but they still needed to get it out pretty quickly.”
Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, Wales.
Matthew Horwood/Getty
Morjaria — who was told in September that she’s cancer free, but still has to have regular scans as she’s seen as high risk — told the outlet that there were quite a few factors that could have hidden any symptoms of weight loss, chronic fatigue and back pain before her diagnosis.
She said she had the “normal aches and pains,” but just put it down to running around after her “absolutely crazy” son, Sebastian, 2. She also takes medication for depression, and had previously been taking the weight loss drug Mounjaro last year, but has since stopped.
“The doctors were astounded, not only by the fact I was this young, healthy woman, but the fact that, on the surface, I’d had no idea,” she added.
Morjaria admitted of having to get regular tests done, “The reality of it is, every six months I’m going to be scared. I’m going to be a mess. I’m cancer free, but I’m not free of cancer.”
“Even though I haven’t lost my hair, even though I’m seemingly well … it’s taken its toll,” she told the outlet.
Now, Morjaria is keen to help others, urging anybody who might have questions about any symptoms to get in touch via Facebook.
She wrote alongside a link to the BBC Wales article, “If you have any concerns or questions yourself about symptoms you may be experiencing, I’m happy to talk 💖”
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Morjaria, who has an active lifestyle, acknowledged that her diagnosis is “often awkward to talk about,” but insisted to the outlet, “I want it to raise awareness… an adult Butlin’s weekender did indeed save my life.”