{"id":95586,"date":"2022-04-22T14:37:59","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T09:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/i-thought-my-dodgy-tummy-was-just-ibs-but-it-was-cancer-that-had-been-growing-for-ten-years\/"},"modified":"2022-04-22T14:37:59","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T09:07:59","slug":"i-thought-my-dodgy-tummy-was-just-ibs-but-it-was-cancer-that-had-been-growing-for-ten-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/i-thought-my-dodgy-tummy-was-just-ibs-but-it-was-cancer-that-had-been-growing-for-ten-years\/","title":{"rendered":"I thought my dodgy tummy was just IBS but it was cancer that had been growing for TEN YEARS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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KATHY McAllister had been having bowel problems for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 51-year-old from Lisburn in Northern Ireland suffered from a sensitive stomach, constipation and diarrhoea, but put it down to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Kathy<\/a><\/p>\n

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Kathy McAllister had put up with tummy problems for years until she couldn’t even go for a jog without having to rush for the loo<\/span>Credit: Kathy McAllister<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Kathy<\/a><\/p>\n

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Kathy went for a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer<\/span>Credit: Kathy McAllister<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On occasion, she also saw blood in her stools, but thought this was piles.<\/p>\n

Eventually, however, her symptoms became too drastic to ignore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When keen runner Kathy, a former marketing director, found she was unable to go for a jog without having to rush for the loo, she knew something was badly wrong.<\/p>\n

Tests revealed she had a lump, and a colonoscopy confirmed it was Stage 3 bowel cancer.<\/p>\n

Kathy says: \u201cI thought I had IBS for years. I\u2019d suffered from classic symptoms like gas, constipation and diarrhoea, and tried to rule out foods I thought I might be intolerant to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, about six months before diagnosis, I started to get some bleeding too, which I thought was piles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the problem with bowel cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone thinks it happens to older people who have an unhealthy lifestyle, which means young people will often ignore symptoms or have them dismissed by GPs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing is, you get complacent because you think you know what\u2019s wrong with you, and you buy over-the-counter medication to treat it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been told my cancer could have been growing for up to 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Central Recorder’s\u00a0No Time 2 Lose campaign\u00a0called on the Government to lower the age limit for bowel cancer screening from 60 to 50 – and as a result life-saving stool tests are now available for 56 year olds and will be rolled out to everyone over 50.<\/p>\n

WORST FEARS REALISED<\/h2>\n

In September 2019, Kathy went to see her doctor, who performed a Digital Rectal Exam.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmediately, the GP said, \u2018There\u2019s something there that shouldn\u2019t be there,\u2019\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018It\u2019s not cancer is it? It couldn\u2019t be cancer?\u2019 but she just told me I needed to go to the hospital urgently to get it looked at.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw the colorectal surgeon, he confirmed my worst fears. My world fell apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathy had a nine-centimetre lump in her bowel which had turned cancerous and spread into the lymph nodes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She embarked on a 25-day course of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing is, bowel cancer is very treatable if it\u2019s caught in the early stages,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you\u2019ve progressed beyond that stage, you have to go through all of these brutal treatments to get rid of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that radiation treatment is literally burning your insides.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t go to the loo without taking morphine or Co-codamol first, and even then it was excruciating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I would pass out with the pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the treatment ended, Kathy left London, where she\u2019d lived for 20 years, to recuperate at her family\u2019s cottage near Giant\u2019s Causeway in Northern Ireland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But in April 2020, just as the pandemic hit, she was given the bad news that her treatment hadn\u2019t worked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Surgery to remove her rectum and anus was the only option.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She would be left with a permanent stoma, which is an opening on the stomach to let waste out of the body.<\/p>\n

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Waking up in hospital on my own after the operation was horrific – I felt suicidal<\/p>\n

Kathy McAllister<\/span><\/cite><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She says: \u201cI did everything I could to avoid having surgery and got a second opinion back in London, but the surgeons agreed I had to have it done.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just couldn\u2019t bear the thought of living with a stoma and colostomy bag \u2013 I\u2019ve always been very insecure about how I looked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love doing exercise, and thought I was facing a future of being stuck at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the biggest blow you can imagine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaking up in hospital on my own after the operation was horrific. I felt suicidal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe staff were terrified of getting Covid or giving it to the patients and I couldn\u2019t have visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how I got through those four weeks in hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really frightening, like being a prisoner, and at the same time I had to deal with what had happened to my body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, however, Kathy started to feel better, with the support of some close friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her first goal was to get out of the hospital, and get home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Kathy<\/a><\/p>\n

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Kathy was eventually fitted with a stoma but did everything she could to avoid surgery<\/span>Credit: Kathy McAllister<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then, a few weeks later, in June 2020, she turned a corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to feel so grateful I was still alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d been lying in the garden in the hot weather as I recovered, and it brightened me up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI suddenly felt I could deal with this after all, and that nothing had ever beaten me before.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI said to myself, \u2018This is a real test, a real trial, but I\u2019m strong\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Kathy was inspired to launch her own campaign to raise awareness of the symptoms of bowel cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone kept saying to me, \u2018But how could you get it? You\u2019re so healthy.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, I caught sight of myself in my bikini and it was the first time I\u2019d really seen the bag in the mirror.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI could see what the cancer had done to my body.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality of it made me think, \u2018What if other people could see this?\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps it would make them less complacent about possible symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What are the red flag warning signs of bowel cancer?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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IT’S the fourth most common cancer in the UK, the second deadliest – yet bowel cancer can be cured, if you catch it early enough.<\/p>\n

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While screening is one way of ensuring early diagnosis, there are things everyone can do to reduce their risk of the deadly disease.<\/p>\n

Being aware of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, spotting any changes and checking with your GP can prove a life-saver.<\/p>\n

If you notice any of the signs, don’t be embarrassed and don’t ignore them. Doctors are used to seeing lots of patients with bowel problems.<\/p>\n

The five red-flag symptoms of bowel cancer include:<\/p>\n