A woman who was told she was ‘too young for cancer’ has revealed the tragic life sacrifices she’s been forced to make due to her condition.
She claimed doctors made her believe she was ‘crazy’ by putting her common symptoms down to just menstrual cramps.
31-year-old Chelsea Davies was later diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer earlier this year.
As the sixth most common cancer among women in the UK, ovarian cancer accounts for five percent of all cancer deaths in females across the country, according to Cancer Research
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In September 2021, the mother-of-two saw doctors for the first time, complaining of abdominal pain and suffering from constipation.
"I didn't think it was anything too serious," she said. “The doctors just felt my tummy and told me it's most likely my period."
When Davies’ symptoms, which were allegedly written off by doctors, didn’t clear up, she began to worry that it was cancer.
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Over the course of four years, the cleaner returned to see health practitioners ten times, and admitted she felt ‘hopeless’. And despite having X-rays and a colonoscopy, they were unable to deliver a prognosis until May 2025.
"They performed a prostate examination and later a colonoscopy," she explained. “But they couldn't find anything. I still kept hearing that it was my period, and at one point, the doctors suggested a diet change, thinking I had IBS. Nothing they said or gave me worked.”
Even though she was allegedly informed that she was ‘too young’ for cancer, eventually, Davies was informed that the blood in her stool, the extreme fatigue and anxiety she was suffering from were actually cancer of the uterus.
"For years, I thought I was crazy - and had to ask my friends if they thought I was overreacting to my symptoms,” Davies revealed.
After she was given the prognosis by an oncologist at St Mary's Hospital, where an MRI and ultrasound scan of her uterus confirmed she had multiple masses, Davies underwent an emergency hysterectomy.
Because of how ‘severe’ her cancer was, she also had part of her bowel removed, as well as her appendix.
“They told me the cancer must have been in me for a while, but no one caught it, and now my body was covered in masses; they had to remove almost half my organs."
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Unfortunately, the operations rendered her unable to carry children, meaning she wouldn’t be able to naturally add to her and 41-year-old partner Noel’s brood, which includes Mia, 13, and Jordan, 11.
Admitting she was ‘devastated and furious’, Davies said she wanted a ‘whole football team’ of children.
“But that's not possible anymore,” she said.
Although she hasn’t been informed that her cancer has reached stage four, Davies has confessed that she thinks her life will end short.
The Brit also said she could be 'the next Jessica Brady’ - a woman who died from advanced stage 4 cancer after doctors also said she was ‘too young for cancer’.
A new NHS initiative, named after Brady, is encouraging GPs teams to rethink a diagnosis if a patient presents three times with the same things, or find their symptoms are getting worse.
"I can't believe it took four years to get an answer,” Davies revealed. "It's completely turned my life upside down. I can't help but think my cancer was preventable.
"Now I've got no uterus, no eggs, and no hair. Like Jessica, I feel like it's too late for me and I know this rule would've helped me.”
Even though Davies admitted she is ‘grateful’ to finally know she has cancer, she said she couldn’t help but think that the diagnosis came ‘too late’.
"Hopefully, Jess's law can prevent people from ending up in the same situation as me. My future would probably look entirely different."
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.
Ella Scott