What were thought to be ‘perimenopause symptoms’ had in fact been the first signs of her cancer.
A mum whose night sweats and hot flushes were put down to perimenopause was later diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Kim Oakhill, 51, had always been a fit and healthy person but began experiencing daily leg pain, fatigue, night sweats and hot flushes in bed aged 48, in 2024.
It was put down to perimenopause and she was prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but it didn’t improve her symptoms. Her HRT dose was upped but things were only getting worse – and she developed a cough.
It was thought to be an unrelated infection, then acid reflux, then asthma – but antibiotics, antacid tablets and an inhaler didn’t work. Eventually a CT scan revealed a mass on her right lung – which was cancerous, and classed as stage four as it had spread to the lining of the heart and brain too.
What were thought to be ‘perimenopause symptoms’ had in fact been the first signs of her cancer. The mum-of-three, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, had several rounds of life-extending intensive chemo – but the NHS have nothing else to offer Kim.
Anticipating a life expectancy of under 12 months, Kim is now fundraising £150,000 for a private targeted treatment. Kim, a now-retired NHS scientist, said: “I was always a really fit and energetic person – I played loads of sport and did loads of dog walking.
“I was put on HRT but the night sweats, fatigue and pain were still there. When I was finally told I had cancer, it was an unbelievable shock.”
In early 2024, Kim began getting her first symptoms of calf and knee pain and tiredness, which she put down to overexercising. Doctors thought the night sweats, fatigue and hot flushes were perimenopause – but when no dose of HRT made a difference, they were stumped.
She said: “I remember in summer of 2024, I had to stop mid-way through a korfball event because my knees hurt and I was so tired. I’d never had to stop before but I thought I was just getting old.”
By February 2025, Kim had also developed a persistent cough – but it wasn’t thought to be connected to her other issues. Over the months she was diagnosed with various conditions including acid reflux, asthma and a chest infection, but no medications helped.
Over time her voice began to change tone too. She said: “It started to get quite low, or quite high. It wasn’t painful, my voice just sounded different.”
In April, she thought perhaps she needed to improve her stamina – and booked herself in with a personal trainer. But the coughing persisted and she went back to her GP and was given antibiotics for another chest infection.
By July, she was sent for a CT scan – which she was told was ‘just to rule out anything serious.’ But the following morning, she was called and asked to come to hospital.
Kim said: “They showed me a mass on my right lung and liquid around my lung and heart. I expected them to come back from the scan and say I needed new chest infection medication – it was an unbelievable shock.”
Tests revealed as well as the lungs, cancer had spread to the lining of her heart – and brain – making the cancer advanced and inoperable. She said: “The only thing I could think about was my husband, and children aged 18, 20 and 22.
“I know they’re adults, but they’re just starting life – and I won’t be there for them.” She started a course of chemotherapy soon after, in the hope to extend her life, but she was only allowed a limited course because of its strength.
Then she was given a different, super-strength toxic chemotherapy from Christmas onwards. She finished the course in April after four rounds, which caused her excruciating limb pain, hair loss and severe sickness.
While she is having maintenance chemotherapy, it is unclear how long it will be until the cancer starts to spread again, and she has been told at that point, there is nothing more that the NHS can offer. While Kim hasn’t been given a specific prognosis, her own research has indicated she has between six and 12 months to live.
She is now fundraising for private access to a targeted drug which she is unable to access on the NHS. She said: “I just have to keep staying positive for my family, and for myself.
“It does consume me, but I have to try and not let that happen. I had never smoked, and I want to stop the stigma that says you don’t get lung cancer unless you smoke. If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer.”
You can donate to the fundraiser here. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kim-oakhill-fight-for-life



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