WHEN Carla Nicholas noticed her tummy had swollen she put it down to stress and a bit of bloating.

Her tummy was bulging so much, strangers started asking if she was pregnant.

The 45-year-old's waistline grew two dress sizes in a matter of weeks, and she got to the point where she couldn't even do her jeans up.

Worried, the nurse called her GP, who blamed her symptoms on constipation and wind.

But when Carla started suffering such bad back pain that she could barely walk, she knew there was more to it.

She went to NHS walk-in centre and doctors examined her, feeling her tummy.

They sent her for scans at the hospital where she works in Telford - scans that revealed something far more sinister.

Carla was told she had cervical cancer, with two huge tumours growing inside her.

"The gynaecology consultant looked me in the eyes, and she started with the words, 'I am so sorry'," she told The Sun.

"I could feel the tears sting my eye and I was squeezing Wes's hand like my life depended on it.

"My head was spinning, you hear the word 'cancer' and you don't know what to think about.

"I felt like a nightmare and that maybe I would wake up at any moment."

Carla first noticed her stomach had started to swell in November 2017.

"I was in the pub drinking before Christmas and people were asking me why I was drinking when I was pregnant," she said.

"I had increased two dress sizes in the space of two weeks, which made me look like I was about to give birth.

"A lot of people started staring at my stomach while I was at work and out socialising.

"I wanted to scream, 'No, I am NOT pregnant'.

"People were looking at me in disgust. I did look like I was a pregnant lady getting drunk."

The 45-year-old's growing waistline meant she went from wearing a size 12 to a 16 in two weeks.

Crucially, Carla dismissed the signs - putting them down to a pre-existing health condition.

She suffers Peutz Jeghero syndrome, which causes polyps - or lumps - to form in the bowels.

But alarm bells began to ring when Carla couldn't fasten her jeans up, which was "extremely strange".

When her back began to hurt and more people started asking about her "bump", Carla started to worry.

"We were both laughing really, but I said to Wes that I couldn't walk properly as my back was in agony," she told The Sun.

"All of a sudden I had gone from nurse to patient," she said.

Scans showed she had two huge tumours, one measuring 10cm that was engulfing her left ovary and a 6cm growth that doctors said "could be nasty".

Further tests revealed one of the lumps was growing, and within two weeks by the time she had surgery, it had reached 22cm in size.

Carla clung to the hope the growths were cysts, while she waited to go back into hospital for a full hysterectomy two weeks later.

But in those two weeks, she experienced an unusual sign that doctors linked to the disease - wind pain and unpleasant farts.

Carla said: "They were so bad they were enough to knock out a room with."

Surgeons operated on Carla for four hours, performing a hysterectomy, removing her uterus, ovaries and the tumours.

Tests on the lumps confirmed Carla had a rare form of cervical cancer.

"I was told the cancer was not curable and would have up to five years to live," she said.

"All I can hope for is to go into partial remissions to try and get it under control."

Carla has had several rounds of palliative chemo, which she hopes will extend her life.

And she's speaking out to raise awareness - and urge other women to get checked if they're worried.

"If you have the same symptoms as me, it is best to go and get them checked by your doctor earlier rather than later."