Rhiannon Ingle
A woman has opened up about how lying to her doctors so she could get a colonoscopy ended up saving her life as it caught stage four cancer, despite doctors dismissing her initial symptoms.
Sydney Stoner, who hails from Little Rock, Arkansas, had previously ignored her long-term toilet troubles and abdominal aches, but grew more worried in the summer of 2019.
When the now-31-year-old doubled over in pain at work, she visited the doctors who told her she was 'too young for it to be anything serious', despite her explaining that the pain felt like 'her insides were being twisted'.
Not getting anywhere with the doctors, Sydney, who was 27 at the time, then resorted to lying about having blood in her stool.
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Opening up about her symptoms, she said: "For years before my diagnosis [in 2020] I was having really bad abdominal pain, diarrhoea and constipation.
"People would say it was just that time of the month or that it was just female stuff but I thought no, this can't be that painful.
"I wasn't getting any blood in my stool, but one time at work I was bent over in pain so I decided to make a phone call and do something about it."
Sydney recalled: "When I spoke to a doctor, he told me I was too young for it to be anything serious.
"At that point I really wasn't told anything that it could be but I do remember one doctor saying it was probably IBS.
"I had to lie to get my colonoscopy - I told them that I had blood in my stools because they kept telling me that I needed a referral to be seen."
Sydney was referred for a colonoscopy in September 2020. Her doctors reportedly told her they struggled to even investigate as a tumour was 'blocking' her colon.
She was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer that had spread to her liver and lungs.
"When the doctors told me it was cancer, my whole world stopped spinning," she shared, explaining that she and her partner were newlyweds so they were 'excited for this new chapter and it kind of all just came to a halt'.
Sydney added: "I was terrified, but also I was really frustrated.
"I was also really mad at myself because I'd ignored my symptoms for so long, or just acted like it would fix itself."
Doctors removed the cafe worker's cancer from her colon in September 2020 and from her liver in 2023, but she's still undergoing chemotherapy for cancer in her lungs.
She has already braved 24 rounds of chemotherapy so far and says her cancer is now 'stable'.
Explaining that she feels 'frustrated' that medics didn't take her symptoms seriously earlier, Sydney added that medical professionals believed she would have died before the regular screening age of 45.
Sydney is now urging anyone experiencing worrying symptoms to visit their GP - regardless of their age.
The NHS explains that the main symptoms of bowel cancer include persistent blood in the stools, a persistent change in bowel habits, persistent lower abdominal (tummy) pain, bloating or discomfort.
"I know it's difficult but keep advocating for yourself because no one else is going to get that done for you," Sydney urged. "Find a new doctor, or whatever that may be.
"Find someone to listen to you because I know people that were diagnosed at 18 years old.
"The screening age needs to be lower, or there shouldn't be one at all."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.