Recognizing Symptoms of Bowel Cancer
- Charity fundraiser Laura Stephenson from Lancashire, England gave birth to twins in 2018 and began suffering from symptoms she figured were from childbirth.
- Unfortunately, after undergoing some scans, her doctors determined it was stage 4 bowel cancer.
- In order to catch this type of disease at an earlier stage, it’s crucial to be aware of anything that seems to be operating differently, and get in right away to see a doctor.
“She called me as she was in the car on the way home from the hospital to give the news to her mum,” Laura’s father, Mike Barnes, told LancashireLive. "I was volunteering in Malawi at the time. She told me she wanted to see her girls grow up and get married, and when you're that distance away all you can say is 'you will'.”
Read More"She just went and lived a full life,” Mike said. “She refused to let it stop her from doing anything at all. She insisted on picking her daughters up from school every day. Cancer wasn't going to stop her being a mum, it wasn't going to interfere with her relationship with those around her, and it wasn't going to stop her working and helping others.”
“I know I'm biased, but she was such an amazing person,” he added proudly. “Everyone that met her fell in love with her."
During Laura’s battle, she documented her experienceas many cancer patients often doand now her loving father compiled his daughter’s thoughts into a book, called Nobody Said It Would Be Easy, which he says is a story of “courage, faith, positivity, and never giving up.”
“We have the freedom to choose how we approach something,” said the late published author. “Being given that freedom is something that I wouldn't swap for anything. I will choose faith over fear, hope over worry and belief over doubt every time".
What is Bowel Cancer?
Bowel cancer is a general term for cancer that begins in the large bowel (colon), but in the United States, we typically use the term colorectal cancercolon cancer or rectal cancerdepending on the specific location of the disease.
The colon and the rectum are actually two different organs. The colon is a wide muscular tube that starts on your right side and goes all the way around to your left side. Food is already completely digested by the time that it reaches your colon, so the colon's job is just to absorb any water that remains to make solid stool. (If this function isn't working right, you end up with diarrhea.) After the colon is the rectum, which lies deep in the pelvis. The rectum functions like a reservoir which holds stool until you are able to go to the bathroom.
Understanding the Function of the Colon and the Rectum
What does this all mean to you? Cancer of the colon and rectum are sometimes treated very differently, so ask your doctor where exactly your tumor is. Either way, it is possible to live a normal life even if your entire colon and/or rectum have to be removedit may just change the way you go to the bathroom.
Colorectal (bowel) cancer might not immediately cause symptoms, but these are possible symptoms to look out for:
- A change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of the stool that lasts for more than a few days
- A feeling that you need to have a bowel movement that's not relieved by having one
- Rectal bleeding with bright red blood
- Blood in the stool, which might make the stool look dark brown or black
- Cramping or abdominal (belly) pain
- Weakness and fatigue
- Unintended weight loss
According to Dr. Paul Oberstein from NYU’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, one of the most common signs of colon cancer is a change in bowel habits. “This ranges from constipation or diarrhea to changes in the size or shape of bowel movements,” he explained to SurvivorNet in a previous interview. “A change in stool color, particularly black or tarry stools, can indicate bleeding from a tumor that lies deep in the colon.”
Other symptoms, Dr. Oberstein said, can be harder to pinpoint, such as abdominal pain and unintentional weight loss. Finally, some tumors bleed a small amount over a long period of time, resulting in anemia (low red blood cell count) that is picked up on blood work.
Laura’s cancer was unfortunately diagnosed at a very advanced stage, and sadly, being pregnant with twins certainly masked her symptoms. In order to catch this type of disease at an earlier stage, it’s crucial to be aware of anything that seems to be operating differently, and get in right away to see a doctor.
All proceeds for Laura’s book benefit Bowel Cancer UK.
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