A woman has issued a warning after she was told her stomach pain was ‘probably IBS’.
After she says she pushed doctors, Sydney Stoner’s ‘world stopped spinning’ as she was eventually diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.
The 31-year-old explained she had been having ‘really bad abdominal pain, diarrhoea and constipation’ for years but grew more worried in the summer of 2019.
"People would say it was just that time of the month or that it was just female stuff but I thought ‘no, this can't be that painful’," she explained.
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And when she was left doubled over in pain at work, the woman from Little Rock, Arkansas, US, decided to call the doctors.
However, Sydney claims she was told she ‘was too young for it to be anything serious’.
"At that point I really wasn't told anything that it could be but I do remember one doctor saying it was probably IBS," she added.
The woman was left feeling frustrated as she continued to experience pain that was like ‘her insides were being twisted’.
So, she resorted to lying about having blood in her stools as she continued to be told she ‘needed a referral to be seen’.
Sydney was then referred for a colonoscopy in September 2020 when the medical team reportedly told her they struggled to even investigate as there was a tumour ‘blocking’ her colon.
"When the doctors told me it was cancer my whole world stopped spinning. We were newlyweds so we were excited for this new chapter and it kind of all just came to a halt," she recalled.
"I was terrified, but also I was really frustrated. I was also really mad at myself because I'd ignored my symptoms for so long, or just acted like it would fix itself."
Having once wondered if her symptoms were related to something like a food intolerance, food poisoning or even travel sickness, Sydney was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer which had spread to her liver and lungs.
"Doctors said I was too young but I probably would have died before I made it to the screening age of 45. It was very frustrating," she added.
The cancer from her colon was removed in September 2020 and from her liver in 2023 while she is still undergoing chemotherapy for her lungs.
Sydney has since had 24 rounds of chemo as she says her cancer is now ‘stable’.
She is urging others to ‘keep advocating for yourself’ as she believed the screening age in the US either needs to be lower ‘or there shouldn’t be one at all’.
"Find a new doctor, or whatever that may be," Sydney added, warning people to visit their GP if they are experiencing symptoms, regardless of their age.
"Find someone to listen to you because I know people that were diagnosed at 18 years old."
The NHS says the symptoms of bowel cancer may include blood in your poo, changes in your bowel habits, persistent tummy pain, fatigue and losing weight without trying.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Topics: Bowel cancer, Cancer, Health, US News
Jess Battison