When Ellie Wilcock experienced sudden pain in her abdomen, she assumed a urinary tract infection (UTI) was to blame.
After all, it was something the then 25-year-old had experienced before.
But the real cause was a cancer that kills almost 17,000 Britons every year.
Ellie, now 27, from Peterborough, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, the most serious type of the disease.
Bowel cancer, the fourth most common cancer in the UK, is the same type that killed Dame Deborah James aged 40 in 2022.
Ellie Wilcock, a 27-year-old content manager from Peterborough, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, the most serious stage of the disease.
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.
The content manager’s illness began with ‘extreme pain’ in the abdomen, a classic symptom of the disease.
However, at that moment she didn’t think “of anything” and suspected that it was simply a urinary tract infection.
But when the pain worsened, he decided to seek help from his family doctor.
Tests for a urinary tract infection came back negative, but blood tests taken around the same time showed markers of inflammation.
These signs can indicate cancer but also other possible diseases and conditions.
Ellie was then scheduled for an ultrasound, but the pain quickly worsened, forcing her to seek help at the ER.
Scans performed there detected an unknown mass in his lower abdomen.
Doctors at the time suspected it could be an ovarian cyst or another condition.
Only when a biopsy was performed was the devastating truth revealed.
Tests revealed that the disease had spread to the liver, ovaries and peritoneum, the membrane that supports the organs in the abdomen.
Diagnosed in February 2022, Ellie remembers being in disbelief and never thought the problem could be caused by cancer at such a young age.
Remember how in the midst of this turmoil, Dame Deborah, nicknamed ‘Bowelbabe’ for her work raising awareness about the disease, provided a source of comfort and hope.
“I remember being in the middle of my treatment as I followed Deborah’s story,” he said.
“For me, cancer felt like this new, scary world that I had been plunged headlong into.
“It was scary and unfamiliar to me, full of doctors, hospital gowns and a cocktail of tests and medications.”
‘It was Deborah who made this whole “new world” seem human. For me, Deborah was proof that she really can live with cancer.
“She was this beacon of hope that was truly empowering and inspiring, this positivity continues to shine through her legacy.”
Ellie underwent multiple surgeries to remove her cancer, as well as grueling rounds of chemotherapy, but in August 2022 she was told there was no further evidence of the disease.
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While rates of bowel cancer are highest among people aged 85 to 89 in the UK, experts have warned that rates are rising among adults under 50, such as Ellie and Dame Deborah.
Experts are concerned about a mysterious rise in cancer among younger adults overall, an issue that has come into focus following Kate Middleton’s shocking diagnosis last month.
The main symptoms of bowel cancer are unusual changes in toilet habits, such as looser poop, diarrhea or constipation.
Other symptoms include defecating more or less frequently than usual, blood in your stool, or feeling like you need to defecate even after you have done so.
Like Ellie, people may also experience belly pain or other symptoms such as bloating, weight loss without trying, or fatigue.
Anyone who experiences these symptoms for three weeks or more should speak to their GP.
Bowel cancer symptoms can also be caused by other conditions, but it is important to get checked so the disease can be detected as early as possible.
Cancer Research UK estimates that more than half (54 per cent) of bowel cancer cases in the UK are preventable.
Some of the risk factors for the disease are eating too little fiber, eating too much red meat, and being obese.