How I travelled to six countries in eight months with a stoma

When DJ and broadcaster Adele Roberts found out that she had stage 2 bowel cancer in 2021, it was a shock. The otherwise healthy and thriving Roberts was enjoying her time waking up the nation as the host of Radio 1’s weekend breakfast show and had run two marathons, so a cancer diagnosis couldn’t have been further from her thoughts. 

Choosing not to let this setback define her, the now cancer-free Roberts has used her love of running to raise both money and awareness for causes close to her heart, such as Cancer Research and support for the LGBTQ+ community. Read on, as she shares in her own words how travelling with British Airways and British Airways Holidays has enabled her to complete the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star challenge – consisting of races in six cities around the world – with her stoma in tow. 

Meet my stoma, Audrey

When I had the surgery to remove my bowel cancer tumour, I lost the use of my large intestine, and a section of my small intestine now resides outside of my body. Naming my stoma is something that I was encouraged to do to help me psychologically adapt to having a new body overnight. I named mine Audrey after the plant in the musical Little Shop of Horrors – no offence to the original Audrey but, just like the plant, my stoma is very greedy and naughty! 

I am so grateful for Audrey, though, as she’s not only changed my life but saved my life – I feel like I have a second chance and know how lucky I’ve been to survive bowel cancer, which has the second-highest fatality rate of any cancer in the UK, despite being one of the most treatable types. Audrey has been a brilliant partner on my mission to normalise stomas, raise awareness and encourage early detection of bowel cancer.

Falling in love with über-accessible Japan

Running has had a huge impact on my life – it really helped with my recovery and adjusting to life with a stoma, so I decided to take on the Six Star challenge to test my body and raise lots of vital funds for charity. 

My partner Kate and I visited some amazing cities throughout the challenge, but Tokyo really stood out to us. It was our first time there and we just fell in love with Japan. It’s a place where thousands of years of history merge with forward-thinking innovation – we couldn’t believe how accessible it was! Not only did they have heated, clean, free, fully accessible toilets, but they also had special stoma loos, which I’d never seen before and were game-changing for me because it meant that Audrey could go to the toilet without me having to go, too. 

The Japanese have such a beautiful, welcoming culture and everyone in Tokyo knew what a stoma was, so I never had to explain Audrey to anyone. It meant I could freely explore the city without having to plan my meals in advance and check whether there’d be toilets nearby. It made me feel like I did before I got ill, like I was ‘normal’ again, and it made me so happy. We also got to visit the Dawn Avatar Robot Café, where the robots are operated remotely by people with disabilities who are unable to leave their homes. 

Finding a support system while travelling with a stoma

The logistics of travelling with a stoma can make it just as hard as running a marathon but on the other side, recovering from cancer and learning to live with a stoma has felt like a privilege to me. It’s brought some incredible people into my life, such as the amazing teams at British Airways and British Airways Holidays. From assisting me through airport security to offering support while on board to informing the hotels about all my needs, the whole experience has been world-class.

British Airways’ Accessibility Team based in Newcastle’s BA Contact Centre undergoes regular training from various charities and organisations to increase their awareness of the needs of customers who have both visible and non-visible disabilities. Additionally, all their advisors have personal experience of either living with or caring for someone with accessibility needs. They helped make this whole challenge worry-free and exciting – in the end, I looked forward to the airport more than the cities! It became more than just travel to us. It felt as if we made new friends, with a family of colleagues who looked after us while we were away and got us safely back home.

Find out more about travelling with accessibility needs here