A mother-of-three who claimed her GP three times mistook bowel cancer symptoms for a urinary tract infection has urged others to be aware of the telltale signs of the disease.
Zoe Gardner-Lawson, from Bracknell, Berkshire, initially contacted her GP last August after suddenly feeling a dull, constant pain in her lower back.
But the 36-year-old was prescribed antibiotics repeatedly for a month, despite the pain getting worse.
Then in September, after complaining that the pain had spread to her abdomen and left her bedridden, her GP urged her to go straight to A&E.
Initial tests suggested he might be suffering from kidney stones.
Only after a full-body CT scan did doctors confirm he had a 5cm tumor in his intestine and the human resources manager was diagnosed with stage four cancer. the most severe type, which means it spreads to other parts of the body.
Now on her fifth round of chemotherapy, Ms Gardner-Lawson is calling for the minimum age for bowel cancer screening to be lowered to “at least” 30.
Recalling her terrifying experience, she said: “My teacher Jamie Murphy told me I could have lived with this tumor for up to four years before my diagnosis – that’s terrifying.”
Zoe Gardner-Lawson, from Bracknell, Berkshire, initially contacted her GP last August after suddenly feeling a dull, constant pain in her lower back. In the photo, with his son Odin.
But the 36-year-old was prescribed antibiotics repeatedly for a month, despite the pain getting worse.
‘If all goes well, I still have a chance of reaching the “no evidence of disease” status, but it all depends on the next few years.
“I’m young enough that they don’t consider it a terminal diagnosis yet.”
“The plan is that once I have had my sixth round of chemotherapy, they hope I have responded well,” he added.
“If all goes well, I will have to schedule myself for a second surgery: to remove the remaining lymph nodes in my stomach and two tumors in my liver.”
Each year there are around 44,000 cases of bowel cancer in the UK and 142,000 in the US, making it the fourth most common cancer in both countries.
But cases are increasing among young people, an alarming trend that experts have linked to modern diets, chemical exposures and lifestyle choices.
Symptoms of bowel cancer include changes in bowel movements, such as new, constant diarrhea or constipation, the need or feeling of needing to have bowel movements more or less frequently, and blood in the stool.
Stomach pain, a lump in the stomach, bloating, unexpected weight loss, and fatigue are other common signs.
Only after a full-body CT scan did doctors confirm he had a 5cm tumor in his intestine and the head of the human resources department was diagnosed with stage four cancer. In the photo, Zoe with her husband Sam and their children Leo, Izzy and Odin.
Now on her fifth round of chemotherapy, Ms Gardner-Lawson is calling for the minimum age for bowel cancer screening to be lowered to “at least” 30.
Anyone experiencing these symptoms should contact their GP for advice.
Having always felt “fit and healthy” and was rarely anxious about her health, Ms Gardner-Lawson said she was alarmed when she started experiencing lower back pain and made a telephone appointment with her GP.
“There was just no change and by my third dose (of antibiotics), I had really deteriorated,” he said.
“I was basically bedridden; I felt very unwell and the back pain had spread to my abdomen.”
It was only after a fourth appointment with her GP on September 19 that she was urged to go to A&E.
“They tested my blood for markers of infection, called creatine-reactive protein,” he added.
‘They increased until reaching 364 n/mol; A normal range for women is 52.9 n/mol and 91.9 n/mol.
‘A general surgeon came to see me and said it looked like I had a buildup of fluid in my abdomen.
Bowel cancer can cause you to have blood in your stool, a change in bowel habit, a lump inside the intestine that can cause blockages. Some people also experience weight loss as a result of these symptoms.
Gardner-Lawson, who had always felt “fit and healthy” and was rarely anxious about her health, said she was alarmed when she started experiencing lower back pain and made a telephone appointment with her GP.
“So I threw my toys out of the stroller and told them I wasn’t leaving until they gave me a full-body CT scan.”
The results showed that he had a file-sized tumor in his intestine that had spread to his liver, peritoneum (a membrane that surrounds the abdominal organs) and lymph nodes in his stomach.
After being moved to the Cleveland Clinic in central London, she underwent a four-hour operation in October to remove as much of the tumor as possible and was told she would need chemotherapy.
“I’ve tolerated it as well as anyone, it’s pretty tough,” Gardner-Lawson said.
‘I’m on round five of eight in total – that’s three chemo drugs per round.
“I’ve basically taken the approach of throwing out the kitchen sink and improving my prognosis as much as possible.”
But he believes that if he had been offered a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) sooner, doctors could have detected his cancer years ago.
After being transferred to the Cleveland Clinic in central London, she underwent a four-hour operation in October to remove as much of the tumor as possible and was told she would need chemotherapy.
People aged 60 to 74 who are registered with a GP and live in England automatically receive a FIT kit every two years.
But as part of plans to lower the age of people receiving the test to 50 by 2025, the kits are also currently being rolled out to people aged 54 and over.
People use a small stick provided to collect a small sample of poop from the toilet, which they then send back to an NHS laboratory in a plastic container.
Scientists then look for small amounts of blood in the stool (which would not be visible to the naked eye), as this could be an early sign that something is wrong.
Now, Gardner-Lawson believes the standard age for testing should be reduced to “at least” 30, if not 25.
“If my disease had been detected earlier, it would have been easier to treat… I think it is necessary to lower the minimum age for testing,” he added.
Her ordeal comes as experts continue to warn of a worrying rise in bowel cancers in under-50s, which has baffled doctors around the world.
The disease, the third most common cancer in the UK, is the same type that killed Dame Deborah James. at 40 years old in 2022.
Dame Deborah James, nicknamed the ‘gut babe’, raised more than £11.3 million for cancer research and is credited with raising awareness of the disease, which killed her in 2022, aged 40.
Although the vast majority of diagnoses affect people over 50, rates in older age groups have decreased or remained stable, while diagnoses in younger adults have increased 50 percent over the past 30 years. .
Cancer Research UK estimates that more than half (54 per cent) of bowel cancer cases in the UK are preventable.
Doctors have suggested that obesity, overuse of antibiotics, cell phone radiation and even invisible plastic particles in drinking water are possible triggers.
However, a growing number of experts also point to ultra-processed foods as the cause.