Matilda Tristram was 30 years old and 18 weeks pregnant when she found out she had bowel cancer. Facing a "scary, peculiar and surprising" situation, the illustrator put her experiences into comic form - the result of which is her heartfelt, funny and honest graphic memoir, Probably Nothing, out now.
"I needed something to take my mind off what was happening," she says. "And though I was drawing about cancer, I was concentrating on the creative process instead of thinking, 'Oh my God, am I going to die?'" Only after she begun writing it did she realise it was also a good way to communicate with friends and family and began uploading the strip onto her website.
After having a tumour removed - which doctors think had been there for a few years - Matilda began chemotherapy. Now in remission, and a mum to one-year-old James (an "amazing, happy, healthy" baby), she hopes the comic will help raise awareness of bowel cancer.
"If people talked about it more, I might have thought about it sooner. People need to know how to spot the symptoms," she says. "It's so important to know your body and not be embarrassed to ask your doctor about anything."
Here, in an exclusive comic strip for GLAMOUR, Matilda shares her experiences of being diagnosed, and why it's important to know the signs and keep pushing for answers:
To read Matilda's full story, pick up a copy of her graphic memoir*Probably Nothing: A Diary of Not-Your-Average Nine Months* - out now.
