Cancer patient wins £20 million in the National Lottery

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 07 Aug 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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A woman from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who has cancer of the oesophagus, won £20,100,000 - the biggest single win ever in the National Lottery's 10 year history.

Mother of two, Iris Jeffrey, did not realise she had won. It was not until lottery organisers started trying to find the winner and made an appeal that she found out.

Iris said the first thing she is going to do is splash out on a new washing machine. She would then like to go to Las Vegas.

Iris, 58, said "I watched the news on television and it came out with the numbers on the screen. I wrote them down to check them later on, and forgot about the ticket. I didn't believe it actually, my daughters checked the ticket for me."

Iris also said she will make sure her family and friends are very secure for life. "I'm being treated for cancer at the moment, cancer of the gullet (oesophagus), I just found out in April about it. I'm undergoing chemotherapy at the moment and I will be having a major operation, hopefully next month."

What is cancer of the oesophagus (gullet)?

There are two main types of cancer of the oesophagus. They are called squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

The cancer begins in the lining of the gullet. It sometimes narrows the oesophagus and makes it difficult to swallow. Usually food begins to lodge or stick at first, and then liquids may become difficult to swallow.

Adenocarcinoma is a cancer that forms in the cells of the glands that produce the mucus that helps us to swallow.

Squamous cell carcinomas form in cells that line the oesophagus.