Teen's Bowel Cancer Symptoms Ignored 13 Times: 'Too Young' Was the Response

A Young Woman’s Fight Against Bowel Cancer

Milli Tanner, a 23-year-old from Evesham, Worcestershire, has shared her harrowing journey of being misdiagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer. Her story highlights the challenges young people face when seeking medical attention for serious health issues.

Ms. Tanner first visited her GP in June 2021 at the age of 19, experiencing stomach pains, lower back pain, and blood in her stool. This was just the beginning of a long and frustrating process that involved over a dozen visits to her local doctor and A&E until November 2023.

During these visits, she was repeatedly told she had piles, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or period problems. Some doctors even suggested that she had "had too much to drink" and was suffering from the consequences. However, Ms. Tanner knew something was seriously wrong.

She continued to experience persistent symptoms, including continuous bleeding and abdominal pain. She described the severity of her condition: "It's not a little bit of blood on the tissue, this is clots of blood and filling the toilet bowl up."

At one point, she was referred for an ultrasound to check for gallstones and later saw a physiotherapist for back pain. Despite her concerns, doctors dismissed her symptoms and attributed them to her job at a pub, which they said explained her fatigue.

The Struggle for Diagnosis

Ms. Tanner eventually decided to take matters into her own hands. She ordered a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) online, which detects tiny traces of blood in the stool. The test came back positive, but it took several more months before her GP ordered an NHS FIT test. Once the test was confirmed, a colonoscopy was arranged, but the wait time was over 60 weeks.

"I knew deep down exactly what it was," she said. "I'd done my own research. It was frustrating. I felt like I was going crazy."

Despite the long wait, Ms. Tanner was finally diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer in November 2023. The disease had already spread to her lymph nodes, and she had to undergo chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. She also had to have her eggs collected due to the risk of infertility from the treatment.

Raising Awareness and Advocacy

Now, Ms. Tanner is using her experience to raise awareness about the importance of early detection and the risks of misdiagnosis. She emphasized the need for young people to trust their instincts and keep pushing for answers if something feels wrong.

"It was such a massive issue and stress getting diagnosed," she said. "I had at least 20 health appointments, including 13 GP appointments and a visit to A&E where I was told I was too young to have cancer."

Amy Harding, director of services and impact at the Teenage Cancer Trust, echoed Ms. Tanner's concerns. "Milli's story, although extreme, is sadly not unique," she said. "We know from recent evidence and through the young people that we support, that far too often the path to a cancer diagnosis is challenging, traumatic, and too long for young people who face delays to diagnosis."

Increasing Rates of Bowel Cancer in Young People

According to Cancer Research UK, rates of bowel cancer in teenagers and young people up to the age of 24 have increased by 74 per cent since the early 1990s. This alarming trend has raised concerns about the growing health crisis among under-50s.

While the National Cancer Plan for England aims to create vital changes, experts argue that targeted measures are needed to empower primary care professionals to spot the signs of cancer in young people. Although cancer is rare in this group, it shouldn't be ruled out simply based on age.