A woman who had stage four colon cancer has revealed the alarming symptoms that she experienced ten months before she received a diagnosis.
Tess, better known online as @thegreenthumbmum, has urged people to pay close attention to their bodies as she believes 'early detection is the best form of cure'.
The mother-of-two, from Australia, explained she first began noticing warning signs just under a year before doctors finally pinpointed what was wrong with her.
Advert
She was later informed that she had colon cancer (also known as bowel cancer), which is one of the most common types of the disease in the UK.
The number of cases are increasing amongst adults between 20 and 50, averaging to be up 7.3 per cent each year for in 30 to 39 year olds, Cancer Research UK has also reported.
According to the NHS, it can be found anywhere inside the large bowl, including the colon and rectum.
"How serious bowel cancer is depends on how big the cancer is, if the cancer has spread, and your general health," it adds, explaining that screening can help detect it early which 'may mean it's easier to treat'.
Advert
Tess told her more than 15,000 followers on TikTok that she hoped that sharing the details of her symptoms could 'help someone else' out there who might be dealing with something similar.
"Your best chance of overcoming this disease is by finding it early," the mother - who has two daughters aged 2 and 6 - said.
Tess told how she was left crippled by 'extreme stomach cramping' in the months before her diagnosis, which continued to worsen over time.
She explained that it was 'mild' at first, but later progressed 'to the point where she would be on the floor in the fetal position' because it was 'so painful'.
The TikToker said the cramps felt similar to pain which someone with endometriosis might experience, adding that the source of her discomfort was always located 'very low in her abdomen'.
Advert
Despite having blood tests, there wasn't any cancer detected in Tess' sample - however, the results did raise some other red flags.
"I had very low iron and I was also anaemic," the social media user said, explaining that she didn't consider this to be 'worrisome' at the time as she's been dealing with those issues her 'whole adult life'.
Another more obvious symptom that Tess had colon cancer was that she noticed blood in her stool, which is a common sign of the disease.
She urged people to check in with their doctor as soon as they can if they notice blood in the toilet bowl or on their tissue too - as the location of the stuff doesn't really matter.
Advert
"People become very specific about where the blood was," she continued. "It doesn't matter if it's on the paper, if it's in the bowl, if it's in the stool - it is a worry.
"Blood in stool or paper is never normal and it should always be investigated, so no matter where it is, you should still follow up on where that blood is coming from."
Another symptom Tess experienced was a change in her bowel habits, which she said can often indicate that someone might have a blockage in their colon.
She recalled how her stools became 'very thin' and 'small' in the months before her diagnosis, seeing her tell the doctor that her two-year-old child was producing bigger ones than she was.
"And that for me was a big red flag," Tess said. "A lot of these symptoms got put down to postpartum, I was 18 months postpartum when I started to go to the doctor about these symptoms.
Advert
"So that's why a lot of it was kind of washed under the bridge," she added, explaining that medics also pointed to dairy intolerance and celiac disease as reasons for Tess' symptoms.
She reminded social media users that this wasn't an exclusive list, but rather her individual experience - as unlike a lot of bowel cancer patients, she 'never experienced bloating'.
"Please keep in mind that there are other symptoms as well," she added. "It might present in each person differently."
Tess urged anyone watching who has been experiencing similar stuff to check in with their GP and press for a colonoscopy if they suspect they might have bowel cancer.
She later took to the comment section of her video to explain further, adding that because she had haemorrhoids, her doctor didn't perform a colonoscopy because they 'assumed it was due to those'.
"It ended up being both," Tess said. "My gastro told me I was 'overreacting' when I said I thought it might be cancer and that I was probably just constipated.
"He then did the colonoscopy and was pretty embarrassed. Keep seeing doctors until someone listens."
Tess says she is currently cancer free and in remission, telling her followers she is 'healthy and better than ever now."
"But that was a tough time," she added. "Doctors never said a 'life expectancy', as I won’t be dying from this disease and always had a good chance at overcoming it."
Olivia Burke