Jamie’s story

At age 37 for between 6 to 8 weeks starting early until the middle of September 2020 I was suffering extreme fatigue in which I felt like passing out in the afternoon and a loss of appetite.

I went to my GP at the end of October after people kept telling me there’s something wrong but at the time I didn’t know that what I was experiencing was signs of bowel cancer.

So, my GP gave me a blood test to take in, which revealed I had severe iron deficiency anaemia. Further testing was required, and a colonoscopy showed a tumour the size of a closed fist.

I saw a surgeon the next day and confirmed the news that I had Stage 3 bowel cancer and the tumour was still growing. If I didn’t have a hemicoloctemy on my right large intestine, when I did I wouldn’t have lived any more than 3 months.

6 weeks after surgery I needed 8 rounds of chemotherapy every 3 weeks for 6 months starting at the end of December 2020. I had a cannula every time I had chemotherapy and after a couple of rounds my arm it was inserted in was hurting and got worse each time.

After finishing treatment in mid-2021 further tests have found no more tumours but my spleen has been enlarged and I have mild ITP so fatigue has been an issue.

It’s been a struggle to get back to work as the hours I do are inconsistent which in turn has caused depression as I don’t like sitting around doing nothing for too long.

My one piece of advice:

Before diagnosis I had no idea the symptoms I was experiencing (iron deficiency anaemia and a loss of appetite) were signs of bowel cancer and I almost left it too late.

Also, chemotherapy is going to take a physical toll and although there’s advice on what side effects can happen it’s hard to prepare for.

It’s also important to look after your mental health and reach out if you’re struggling because unfortunately there’s bad days especially the first few days after chemotherapy.