Woman shares symptoms of stage 4 bowel cancer she 'wished she spotted earlier'
February 4 was World Cancer Day, when we started discussions around cancer, raising awareness and thinking of those currently facing the disease.
But while World Cancer Day is over, it doesn't mean we should stop discussing the disease and listening to the experiences of those affected.
A woman who has been diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer shared four symptoms she noticed before her diagnosis, including one she said she wishes she had spotted earlier, reports Surrey Live.
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Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers nationwide – it accounts for about 11 per cent of all new cases, with around 44,000 people diagnosed annually.
Ellie Wilcock has an advanced form of the disease and shared the four symptoms that led to her diagnosis in a TikTok video. She said there was one specific symptom that could have potentially allowed her to be diagnosed earlier, had she noticed it in time.
Pain
"Number one was pain in the left-hand side of my tummy and my pelvis," Ellie said.
"I thought for a long time that it was a urine infection and it might have gone to my kidneys because it's kind of one-sided and it went from my front round my back.
"But all of my infection markers were coming back clear, so I didn't have an infection in my body, which is why I went for further tests."
The NHS lists tummy pain, a lump in your tummy and bloating as possible symptoms of bowel cancer. People with illnesses such as IBS can sometimes miss these signs, as common digestive issues can trigger similar symptoms. It's always a good idea to get checked if you notice something unusual.
Fatigue
"Number two was fatigue," Ellie continued.
"So normally I would get up, go to work, come home, then maybe go to the gym or cook dinner or see a friend. But I was basically getting home from work and falling asleep for the rest of the evening."
Fatigue can be a symptom of a number of types of cancer, and the NHS lists "feeling very tired for no reason" as a sign of bowel cancer. But it could also signal a number of different conditions, including health problems not caused by cancer.
Changes to bowel habits
"Number three was one I didn't notice but one in hindsight that I probably had, [it] was a change in my bowel habits and blood in my poo. So this is one to really keep an eye on.
"Check your poo. I'm such an advocate for that," she said, adding that if she had noticed a change in bowel movements earlier, she may have spotted her cancer before it developed to stage 4.
The NHS lists the following symptoms as early warning signs of bowel cancer: changes in your poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you; needing to poo more or less often than usual for you; blood in your poo, which may look red or black; bleeding from your bottom; and often feeling like you need to poo, even if you've just been to the toilet.
Weight loss or changes to appetite
"Number four, I would say for me, [was] lack of appetite," Ellie concluded.
"On official symptoms, this goes down as an unexplained weight loss. For me, I wasn't actually losing weight because the lack of appetite was quite infrequent. Most of the time, my appetite was fine.
"But in hindsight I remember having, like, nausea and not wanting to eat as much, because my bowel obviously wasn't normal. Hope this helps."
"Losing weight without trying" and "bloating" are both symptoms of bowel cancer, as per the NHS. However, these symptoms can also be indications of other cancers or non-cancer-related health issues.
If you notice any of these symptoms, the safest thing to do is to talk to your GP.
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