Bowel cancer
Yep, that big white thing in the photo is my bum and just a few short years ago there was a big fat tumour up there.
April is Bowel Cancer Awareness month so I thought I’d talk about my experience with Bowel Cancer to help raise a little awareness about this awful disease.
There seems to be a stigma attached to talking about our bodily functions which is pretty ridiculous especially considering we all have bums and we all have to poo!
Bowel cancer rates in people aged between 20-30 years old are set to rise by 90% in the next 15 years with junk food and inactiveness beloved to be the main cause. This is a very scary statistic!
The good news is that Bowel Cancer survival rates are also increasing! With early diagnosis Bowel Cancer is one of the more curable forms of cancer.
Sadly, many just don’t like talking about their toilet habits or simply don’t know the symptoms to realise that something is wrong.
I was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 30. My only symptom was extreme tiredness. I couldn’t even walk up the stairs without feeling tired. Someone told me it was because I was 30 and that’s just how you feel. That was total nonsense. Blood tests showed that I had an iron deficiency which led my doctor to order a colonoscopy which discovered a 10cm tumour in my transverse colon. There were no other symptoms. I just knew something wasn’t right.
An operation and some chemo later and I am still here to tell the tale.
Symptoms of bowel cancer
- blood in your poo
- blood in your back passage
- tiredness
- feeling bloated
- iron deficiency
- change in bowel habits – diarrhoea or looser than normal stools and constipation
- pain in abdomen or bum
- weight loss
- sickness
If you have any of these symptoms then see a doctor. If you are over 50 then see your doctor for a routine stool test. These guys have seen it all so don’t even worry about it. The only difference between a doctor and your pals is that they use the word stool instead of poo.
Don’t feel embarrassed about something that everyone does and probably most people have problems with.
Early diagnosis can help save your life and this is no longer an older persons disease so listen to your body and if you think something’s not right then see a medical professional without hesitation. It may just save your life!
X
Follow-up 3rd April 2015
I just wanted you say a huge thank you to everyone for your support with my slightly ‘cheeky’ but informative post about Bowel Cancer. I wanted to grab people’s attention so hopefully they would read a bit more about something that isn’t spoken about enough. My bare ‘bowel cancer surviving’ ass seemed like the best way to achieve that. I hope that by reading, liking, commenting or sharing it you have helped inspired someone to get checked out and possibly helped save a life.
Great work gang and I hope the topic of bum problems and early diagnosis is one that you will continue to talk about long after Bowel Cancer Awareness Month is over.
Wishing you all health and happiness over this Easter period and forever more.
X
Oh and thank you so much for the lovely compliments on my extremely white bum. That was the first time I’d ever seen it from that angle. Thank goodness for low lighting!:)
My sincerest apologies to the guy running in the background. I didn’t notice him at the time but I’m really hoping he had poor eyesight. Have a great Easter everyone.