SYDNEY Stoner lied to doctors - and it could have saved her life - after they said she was "too young" for her stomach issues "to be anything serious".
The 31-year-old had ignored her long-term toilet troubles and abdominal aches, but grew more worried in summer 2019.
When she found herself doubled over in pain at work, she visited the doctors who told her it was "IBS" and that she was "too young for it to be anything serious".
Frustrated Sydney, who got married the previous year, says the pain she was experiencing felt like her "insides were being twisted".
So she resorted to lying about having blood in her stool - a symptom of bowel cancer.
Sydney was then referred for a colonoscopy in September 2020 where the doctors reportedly told her they struggled to even investigate as a tumour was "blocking" her colon.
The then-27-year-old, from Little Rock, Arkansas, US, says her "whole world stopped spinning" when she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer which had spread to her liver and lungs.
Doctors removed the cafe worker's cancer from her colon in September 2020 and from her liver in 2023 but she's still undergoing chemotherapy for cancer in her lungs.
She feels frustrated that medics didn't take her symptoms seriously earlier, saying: "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."
In the UK, bowel cancer screening is offered to individuals aged 50 to 74 every two years.
It was lowered to the age 50 from 60 thanks to The Sun's No Time 2 Lose campaign with Bowel Cancer UK, spearheaded by the late Dame Deborah James who was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer aged 35.
Sydney says: "For years before my diagnosis [in 2020] I was having really bad abdominal pain, diarrhoea and constipation.
"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."
Sydney had wondered if her symptoms were related to a food intolerance, a bout of food poisoning or even travel sickness.
She said: "I wasn't getting any blood in my stool, but one time at work I was bent over in pain so I decided to make a phone call and do something about it.
I had to lie to get my colonoscopy - I told them that I had blood in my stools because they kept telling me that I needed a referral to be seen
Sydney Stoner
"When I spoke to a doctor, he told me I 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.
"I had to lie to get my colonoscopy - I told them that I had blood in my stools because they kept telling me that I needed a referral to be seen.
"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.
"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."
Sydney has braved 24 rounds of chemotherapy so far and says her cancer is now "stable".
She is now urging anyone experiencing worrying symptoms to visit their GP - regardless of their age.
The NHS says main symptoms of bowel cancer include persistent blood in the stools, a persistent change in bowel habits, persistent lower abdominal (tummy) pain, bloating or discomfort.
Sydney said: "I know it's difficult but keep advocating for yourself because no one else is going to get that done for you.
"Find a new doctor, or whatever that may be.
"Find someone to listen to you because I know people that were diagnosed at 18 years old.
"The screening age needs to be lower, or there shouldn't be one at all."
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.
While screening is one way of ensuring early diagnosis, there are things everyone can do to reduce their risk of the deadly disease.
Being aware of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, spotting any changes and checking with your GP can prove a life-saver.
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.
The five red-flag symptoms of bowel cancer include:
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.
In some cases bowel cancer can block the bowel, this is known as a bowel obstruction.
Other signs include:
While these are all signs to watch out for, experts warn the most serious is noticing blood in your stools.
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.
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