‘Doctors thought I just needed physio – now I’m fighting for my life’

‘Women get ignored a lot, I really do, especially if you’re a little bit on the heavier side’ (Picture: Krissy Henstredge)

Krissy Henstredge spent 10 years being told her chronic back pain was linked to her weight and existing health conditions.

As well as living with IBS since her teens, she suffered from Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS), and Bell’s palsy, a neurological condition that causes weakness or paralysis in the face.

A car accident in 2009 had also caused the 40-year-old ongoing pain in her hips, which needed regular injections to manage the discomfort.

‘I wasn’t a stranger to health problems,’Krissy tells Metro. ‘I’d been dealing with issues since I was 15, so when things didn’t feel right, it’s easy to assume it was just part of everything else.’

When she began to develop a’stitch-like’ pain on her left side a few years ago, Krissy lived with it at first. But when the pain still hadn’t subsided by 2024, she went to see her doctor, who suggested physiotherapy.

‘I told the physio my hip and back were really bad and that I didn’t know what was causing the pain, so they sent me for an MRI of my hips.’

When nothing unusual was detected, Krissy carried on doing exercises and working with her ‘fantastic’ physio – however, the pain persisted.

‘I went back to the GP, who suspected it was linked to my hip condition or weight,’ explains the trade support worker.

Krissy was sent for physio – but her condition was far more serious than they realised (Picture: Getty Images)

‘Even when I raised concerns that perhaps it could be something else, especially as my weight fluctuated, it never felt like anything deeper was being investigated. I think women get ignored a lot, especially if you’re a little bit on the heavier side.’

In August 2025, while working from home one weekend in Portsmouth, Krissy was struck by sudden, excruciating back pain.

‘It was like nothing I’d felt before,’ she remembers.

Although her mum, Donna, urged her to call an ambulance, Krissy tried to deal with it through painkillers. It was only when she called her physio the following Monday to ask what she should do, that she realised she needed to go to hospital urgently.

Kirssy (top right) says her family rallied around (Picture: Krissy Henstredge)

‘My physio said I needed to go to A&E straight away because they wanted me to get it checked out properly,’ she remembers.

After waiting for hours in agony, Krissy eventually received an MRI scan, which showed that she had two bulging discs in her spine. It also revealed something far more concerning.

‘The doctors said they’d spotted a mass on my kidney, and I’d need to come back for a CT scan.’

As Krissy absorbed what they were saying, she admits that initially she didn’t worry, as years of medical issues meant health woes had just become her ‘daily life.’

‘People have cysts all the time, so I just assumed it was something like that,’ she remembers.

A scan at the hospital finally revealed what was really wrong with Krissy (Picture: Getty Images)

A couple of weeks after her scan, Krissy was working at home when she received a phone call from the hospital.

She received the devastating news that she had Stage 3 Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma – an aggressive form of kidney cancer – and would need to have her kidney removed.

‘To be told over the phone was horrible,’ she remembers. ‘It all felt so out of the blue. Nothing in my blood tests had shown anything, no one had suspected it.

‘It would’ve been much better to be told in person and have someone with me for support, but instead I was on my own. I called my mum, and burst into tears. That initial cry was absolutely horrendous.’

At a following appointment, Krissy was told that she needed urgent surgery to remove the cancer, followed by vital immunotherapy. If the treatment was successful, her life expectancy could be five years or more.

Thankfully, Krissy’s operation last September to have her kidney removed was a success – however, she has been plagued with complications since.

‘It’s not a small operation, it took a lot out of me. I tried to get back to normal too quickly, but the pain was excruciating,’ Krissy explains. ‘I’ve ended up with nerve damage all over my left side, which means I can’t feel the skin, but I can feel underneath it.’

She also struggled to do everyday things, such as moving around or going to the toilet. Fortunately, she has a great support network around her who she says help her through the most difficult moments.

‘My mum, dad, brothers and my two friends, Kerry and Dan, have been fantastic. I call them whenever I’m feeling down and have a good old cry or a chat,’ says Krissy.

Due to the high risk of the disease coming back, she has been having immunotherapy treatment since December 2025 every six weeks, lasting 40 minutes, to try and stop it returning.

‘I was told there is only a 5% chance it will help – but in my brain, that’s better than zero.’

Krissy’s friends have been a huge support (Picture: Krissy Henstredge)

Immunotherapy has also brought its own challenges, including breathlessness, joint pain and severe dryness in her eyes and mouth.

‘I didn’t really start getting any bad side effects until about my third round, explains Krissy. ‘I keep getting a bad tummy, extreme itchiness; they’re treating me for colitis, and my liver’s quite inflamed.’

More recently, after developing a blood clot in her arm, she’s had to postpone her final three treatments.

‘My last one was supposed to be in September – it was an end goal. But these delays are just adding to the stress,’ she explains. ‘Looking back, so many of my symptoms were explained away because of other conditions.

‘If there’s one thing I’d say, it’s trust your instincts – you know your body better than anyone.’

Krissy is currently waiting for results from her three-month check-up scan to ensure she is still cancer-free. Looking ahead, she hopes to enjoy a holiday once treatment is finished, as she’s determined to make the most of her time.

‘It’s been a whirlwind, but you have to keep looking at the positives,’ she says.

‘I love Greece. I want a nice red wine somewhere, sitting on a taverna. That would be perfect.’

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