A mother of two who was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 38 has spoken out about the one sign she wishes she had not overlooked. Laura received her diagnosis in June last year and has since undergone four rounds of chemotherapy.
Social Media Revelation
Laura, who has built a following of 18,000 on TikTok, has been documenting her treatment and recovery journey. In a recent video, she highlighted a symptom she had dismissed as 'normal' but which turned out to be an indicator of cancer. The video was captioned: 'I would have done things A LOT differently.'
In the clip, she stated: 'I was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer at the age of 38, and this is my biggest regret: not listening to your body. I was so tired all the time and I just thought 'this is normal'. I think a lot of us, especially working parents with young children in particular, you think 'oh this is normal to feel tired'.'
She continued: 'I've got really young children, I'm working, I don't stop for a single second - I'm going to be tired. But actually what my body was trying to tell me is 'hey, something's wrong'. And I ignored it and I really, really wish I had gone to the GP sooner. They might have been able to catch it at an earlier stage and avoid chemo, for example.'
The Only Symptom
Laura noted that fatigue was the only symptom her body gave her. She urged others: 'If you're feeling really knackered, thinking 'gosh, this is really affecting my day-to-day life', you're getting a full night's sleep and you're not feeling refreshed, please take this as a sign to go and get your bloods checked. Have a conversation with your GP and try and get to the bottom of why you're so tired.'
She concluded: 'And for goodness sake, if they tell you you're anaemic, please have a FIT Test.' A Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) checks for blood in stool samples, a key symptom of bowel cancer.
Recognising Bowel Cancer Symptoms
The NHS lists several potential signs of bowel cancer, including:
- Changes in bowel habits (softer poo, diarrhoea, or constipation)
- Needing to go to the toilet more or less often than usual
- Blood in the stool (red or black)
- Bleeding from the bottom
- Feeling like you need to poo even after going
- Stomach pain
- A lump in the stomach
- Bloating
- Unexplained weight loss
Persistent tiredness or shortness of breath may also indicate anaemia, which can be caused by bowel cancer. While these symptoms can stem from other conditions, the NHS advises contacting a GP if any persist for three weeks or more. If stool is black or dark red, or if bloody diarrhoea occurs, an urgent appointment is recommended. For non-stop bleeding from the bottom or a large amount of blood, call 999.
