35-year-old woman thought to have irritable bowel syndrome

A woman who initially thought to have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Bowel cancer..

Rachel Reid’s symptoms initially manifested as stomach pain and a rush to the bathroom.

She thought she had a bad reaction to the food and changed her diet significantly, which helped, but the symptoms persisted.

Similarly, Rachel said she was always unbearably tired, even after a good night’s sleep Wales online..

Rachel, a 35-year-old from Pontypridd, was also being treated for severe psoriasis at the time, and the drugs she was taking could have side effects. However, after expressing concern with her dermatologist, she was finally referred for colonoscopies.

After 18 months of pain, Rachel discovered she had intestinal cancer. “I was undergoing a colonoscopy and I could see it on the screen. In a sense, it reassured me. I thought I was crazy. My skin Thanks to the doctor.”

Before that, Rachel visited the GP several times and was admitted to the hospital in April and May 2018, when an ovarian cyst was found. Nothing else was found on CT scans, MRI scans, and ultrasonography.

As a public health practitioner NHS Rachel has a good understanding of how to maintain a healthy body, helping to recognize that things are not right.

A colonoscopy in November 2018 found a lesion in Rachel’s appendix, and two weeks later she was said to have bowel cancer.

She said: “I was shocked-I couldn’t believe it. I thought they caught it early. But it wasn’t-it was everywhere. It was widespread. I had surgery two weeks after my diagnosis. It’s very difficult to move my head.”

The doctor worked under the assumption that Rachel also had ovarian cysts, so he planned a double surgery with a gynecologist and a gastroenterologist.

If Rachel discovered that the cancer had spread outside her intestine before she went to the theater, she gave her doctor permission to “remove it all”. “I was lucky to have done it. I noticed that the cancer had spread. It was in the womb, in the womb.”

Rachel created a total hysterectomy and a stoma with a resection of two parts of the intestine.

“I didn’t know until I woke up, but they could pass the sheet over my head and see it on the sheet,” she said. “When I was taken out of the theater, I said:’I think I had a hysterectomy.”

“It was horrible when I told them what they did. I couldn’t put it in my head. I wanted to cry, but I It was painful.”

Rachel, 16-year-old Jac’s stepmother and niece’s and nephew’s “great” aunt, said all the children gave her a reason to smile and laugh again.

“Having a child was in my heart-I had my career as a top priority. When I was diagnosed I was 33 years old and consider having a child next year I was going

“I was starting to think of having a child-I would never have such an option now.”

Rachel was given the opportunity to consider freezing the eggs before surgery as a precaution, but she didn’t consider it, so retroactively she wanted more advice.

Rachel’s brother and sister had a baby by the time she was diagnosed, and having around her really helped her get over cancer.

We hope she and her husband Dean Reid will be available for hire in the future, but first she must focus on clarifying everything.

After surgery in December 2018, Rachel started chemotherapy but had severe side effects.

She said: “When I breathed in cold air, I was just suffocating and washing my hands. It felt as if I had stuck my hand in a bowl of needles. I couldn’t do it and became ill.”

Her treatment plan has changed, but in September 2019 cancer had spread to her lungs. Following the second surgery, chemotherapy continued until April of this year.

After the surgery in December 2018, Rachel started chemotherapy but had severe side effects.

“When I breathed in cold air, I felt like I was choking and washing my hands, I felt like I had stuck my hand in a bowl of needles. became.”

Her treatment plan has changed, but in September 2019 cancer had spread to her lungs. Following the second surgery, chemotherapy continued until April of this year.

A recent scan during chemotherapy was revealed, but Rachel needs to be monitored every 6 months for scans, blood tests, and appointments until all clear after 5 years.

Then Dean, who she and she have been with for 15 years, can see the adoption. Rachel explained that a person who has had cancer cannot be adopted until you have healed for five years. “They want to make sure they don’t bring additional trauma to their child,” she said.

According to Rachel, the hardest part of experiencing cancer is how it affects your mental health.

“When you experience a traumatic experience, your brain shuts down to protect you.

“When I talk about it, it’s still not in the real mood-it’s hard to believe I’ve experienced everything.”

Rachel said he received good mental health support from Rowan Tree Cancer Care and the Maggie Center in Cardiff.

For now, Rachel is committed to raising illness awareness among young people, especially in the South Wales Valley, following the coronavirus blockade.

She also raises money for bowel cancer UK and you can donate to her fundraiser here..

Rachel believes that her age played a major role in delaying her diagnosis because she didn’t consider things like her bowel cancer as well as her GP.

“It’s important if you can hear one’s story and have one go through a test and save that person’s life.

“I talk to the other young people who have experienced it, and everyone tells me it’s unusual.”

Rachel finds comfort in connecting online with other young people who also have bowel cancer. Recently, a friend I met died and “struck me like a ton of bricks,” she said.

Rachel added: “I thought “it might be me” that would make me even more determined to share my story and help people.”