A woman who was diagnosed with rectal cancer at just 28 has shared the symptoms to look out for – as new figures show a terrifying rise in cancer rates in young people.
Aisling Gallagher was “super healthy” and settling into her dream job when a sudden dash to the toilet led to a life-changing diagnosis, leaving her devastated.
The young woman had noticed a change in her bowel habits, finding she needed to rush to the loo with “urgency”.
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When she started passing blood with her stool and feeling bloated, she finally went to the doctor, and a colonoscopy months later revealed the cause.
While Aisling’s story sounds rare, figures from Cancer Research UK released this week show that overall cancer incidence rates in 25 to 49-year-olds in the UK increased by 24% between the early 1990s and 2019.
“It’s really sad and quite scary to read the latest statistics,” Aisling, a retail manager and content creator from Belfast, told Need To Know.
“I’m celebrating my fifth year in remission and am forever grateful to be in this position – however, cancer has still taken so much from me and it is so important to keep shouting about the importance of early detection.
“From my experience, the main things I continue to share are the importance of knowing when your body slips out of ‘normal’.
“I had changes in my bowel movements which developed into bloating, pain, and no appetite.
“I knew something wasn’t right as this wasn’t my day-to-day routine – that’s when you need to really take a minute to listen to the warning signs.
“I was young, fit and healthy – there is zero discrimination with cancer.”
Aisling, who was working her “dream job” as a personal shopper for Topshop at the time in London, ignored her initial symptoms of needing to urgently use the toilet more often.
She said: “I was always super healthy and had zero health conditions.
“I didn’t even register for a GP when I moved to London, as I never had to visit.”
It was only when she was visiting home in March 2020 that she decided to check in with her doctor.
While she had an initial examination and further tests were planned, lockdown was declared two days later, and it was put on hold.
From March to August, Aisling “quickly deteriorated”.
She had lost a stone in weight from a lack of appetite, and continued to pass blood with her stool.
Aisling said: “It was extremely scary – I knew deep down something was very wrong.”
Finally, she had blood tests done and was called in for an urgent colonoscopy – where a tumour was found in her rectum, and she was given the life-changing diagnosis of stage-two rectal cancer.
Shortly afterwards, the company she worked for went into administration and she was forced to pack up her life in London and move back home.
She quickly started treatment in October 2020, having radiation treatment on her pelvis as well as oral chemotherapy to help shrink the tumour.
But it didn’t prove effective, and Aisling went on to have an anterior resection surgery, including having a temporary stoma placed, in February 2021.
She said: “It was extremely tough, but the cancer was successfully removed.
“However, by this point, it had spread into 11 of my lymph nodes, so I then needed more chemo to try and prevent it from returning.”
That April, she underwent six more months of chemo.
Aisling was warned she would become infertile as a result of the treatment, and is in the menopause.
“The infertility was the biggest shock and heartbreak to get over.
“I went to see a specialist at the time, but it wasn’t possible for me to freeze any eggs before the treatment started.
“I was devastated and honestly still am – it’s the hardest thing to navigate.
“Whether you want to have a child or not, having your choice taken away is cruel.”
Thankfully, the treatment was a success, and that November Aisling received the all-clear, having the stoma reversal surgery the following month.
She has documented her entire journey over the past six years – something she is passionate about, to help raise awareness for bowel cancer.
Aisling said: “I would never have thought it would be me to have that diagnosis and now I am living with life-changing consequences.
“The things that come alongside cancer treatment are things I never knew happened – like being infertile and going through the menopause following radiation.
“I also have to take HRT and use laxatives every day to keep my body at some sort of normal function.
“But I haven’t let any of this stop me from living my life and I take any opportunity that I can – if this has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short.
“Tomorrow is promised to nobody.
“As I approach my final few check-ups with my oncologist and hopefully celebrate five years in remission, the message is as prevalent as ever.
“If you know you don’t feel right – get it checked.
“Cancer does not discriminate and your health is your superpower.”
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