Credit: Kathy McAllister<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThen, 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\n
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
\n- Bleeding from the back passage, or blood in your poo<\/li>\n
- A change in your normal toilet habits – going more frequently for example<\/li>\n
- Pain or a lump in your tummy<\/li>\n
- Extreme tiredness<\/li>\n
- Losing weight<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Tumours in the bowel typically bleed, which can cause a shortage of red blood cells, known as anaemia. It can cause tiredness and sometimes breathlessness.<\/p>\n
In some cases bowel cancer can block the bowel, this is known as a bowel obstruction.<\/p>\n
Other signs include:<\/p>\n
\n- Gripping pains in the abdomen<\/li>\n
- Feeling bloated<\/li>\n
- Constipation and being unable to pass wind<\/li>\n
- Being sick<\/li>\n
- Feeling like you need to strain – like doing a number two – but after you’ve been to the loo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While these are all signs to watch out for, experts warn the most serious is noticing blood in your stools.<\/p>\n
But, they warn it can prove tricky for doctors to diagnose the disease, because in most cases these symptoms will be a sign of a less serious disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
But before Kathy could launch her Think Bowel Cancer campaign, she had more bumps in the road to overcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a course of \u201cbelt and braces\u201d chemotherapy in autumn 2020, she was relieved when a scan showed no trace of cancer in her body.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then, on Christmas Eve, she found a hard lump in her groin.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that point, I really panicked. I remember thinking, \u2018Is this it? Am I going to die?\u2019 Just two weeks earlier I\u2019d thought it was all gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
In February 2021, Kathy returned to hospital to have some lymph nodes removed, and tests showed the cancer had not spread.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every scan since has been clear and she\u2019s now having six-monthly check-ups.<\/p>\n
That has meant she has been able to focus more fully on the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s retrained as a cancer exercise specialist, and is now set to help out others in a similar position to her.<\/p>\n
Plus, she\u2019s focusing her energy on launching her campaign, in time for April\u2019s Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kathy has posed for a series of shots in her underwear, to bring home what it\u2019s like living with a stoma.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people see me, they just think I\u2019m back to normal, and they don\u2019t see the devastation underneath,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019m left to deal with is a consequence of not going to the doctor soon enough and thinking it was something else.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to get the symptoms of bowel cancer on everyone\u2019s radar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bowel Cancer UK did some research which showed 60 per cent of people have waited three months with symptoms until they see their doctor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They are going when they are Stage 3 and 4, not at Stage 1 and 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They might be complacent, or they might be embarrassed, or they might simply be ignoring it and hoping the symptoms will go away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was one of those people \u2013 but if I had my time again I would act sooner,\u201d says Kathy.<\/p>\n