• News
  • Life
  • TV & Film
  • Beauty
  • Style
  • Home
  • News
    • Celebrity
    • Entertainment
    • Politics
    • Royal Family
  • Life
    • Animals
    • Food & Drink
    • Women's Health
    • Mental Health
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Travel
    • Real Life
  • TV & Film
    • True Crime
    • Documentaries
    • Netflix
    • BBC
    • ITV
    • Tyla Recommends
  • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Make-up
    • Skincare
  • Style
    • Home
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
Submit Your Content
Woman diagnosed with incurable stage four cancer after doctors said symptoms were IBS

Home> News

Published 20:50 2 May 2023 GMT+1

Woman diagnosed with incurable stage four cancer after doctors said symptoms were IBS

She claims doctors mistook her symptoms for IBS

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

A woman has revealed her horror of being diagnosed with incurable stage four cancer after being told by doctors her symptoms were down to irritable bowel syndrome.

Claire O’Shea, 40, had been trying to raise symptoms to her GP for almost two years, having first discovered a lump in her abdomen in August 2021.

She was prescribed medication for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but when a masseuse asked if she was pregnant, O’Shea began to worry something more sinister was wrong.

"I think there was an opportunity for the GP to have spotted it sooner," O’Shea told ITV News.

Advert

"Reading about the symptoms I was presenting with, like constipation sometimes, bloating, discomfort, they're symptoms of lots of different gynaecological cancers, and that should have been a red flag for anyone."

Claire O'Shea.
ITV

O’Shea was eventually referred to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff for an ultrasound in February 2022, claiming specialists downgraded the suspected cancer to a fibroid.

After surgery to remove the lump in September, a biopsy revealed she had sarcoma, a rare type of cancerous tumour in her uterus.

Advert

"It's particularly devastating because it's such an aggressive cancer, it's really, really aggressive,” O’Shea continued.

"If it gets caught early then prognosis is okay-ish, if it's caught late then the prognosis is awful - it's like 14% of people survive up to five years, and I knew already that I'd been battling already for around two years."

Within three weeks of her devastating diagnosis, O’Shea underwent a total hysterectomy.

She now believes she had been met with a ‘catalogue of small errors at every turn’, saying her surgery had been ‘months in the waiting while the cancer was growing’ amid ongoing pressures on the NHS.

Advert

"It's systemic, it's a problem with attitudes, particularly in primary care towards women and being told either you accept pain, or I felt a bit neurotic, like it was 'she's got nothing more to worry about than an upset stomach', and it was obviously much worse than that,” she said.

She believes she had been met with a ‘catalogue of small errors at every turn’.
ITV

O’Shea is now due to start chemotherapy after being referred to a sarcoma consultant at Velindre Cancer Centre, a specialist facility in Cardiff, and is due to start chemotherapy.

"I understand the complexities of running a massive system, that you can't afford to treat everyone with urgency, but I wish I'd been listened to earlier because I think if I'd been diagnosed at my first appointment with the GP I would've saved myself months and I might have just had a fibroid removed,” she added.

Advert

"I feel really lucky, which sounds ridiculous given the circumstances, but I am articulate, I do have a university degree, I have been brought up by a family where we talk about our bodies and health.

"I think about all the women who don't have the privilege or confidence that I have to self-advocate.”

O’Shea has shared her experience as part of a Senedd inquiry into the experiences of women with gynaecological cancer, which is the fourth most common cause of cancer death among women in Wales.

In response to O’Shea’s claims, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said it is unable to comment on individual cases, with a spokesperson saying: "We would ask Claire to contact our concerns team where they will be happy to discuss any concerns she has around her care."

Advert

Tyla has reached out to Cardiff and Vale University Health Board for further comment.

Featured Image Credit: ITV

Topics: UK News, Health

Jess Hardiman
Jess Hardiman

Jess is Entertainment Desk Lead at LADbible Group. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

X

@Jess_Hardiman

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Teen diagnosed with stage 3 cancer after doctors initially said symptoms were 'puberty'
  • Woman with bowel cancer reveals four symptoms she wishes she spotted sooner
  • Symptoms to look out for after radio presenter Jamie Theakston was diagnosed with cancer when listeners noticed key change
  • Woman diagnosed with vulval cancer after thinking she just had thrush

Choose your content:

14 hours ago
15 hours ago
  • 14 hours ago

    Camp Mystic security guard issues emotional statement after using mattresses in heroic act to rescue girls from deadly floods

    In total, at least 82 people are confirmed to have lost their lives following the flash floods in Texas on Friday (4 July)

    News
  • 14 hours ago

    Meghan Markle fans spot ‘creepy’ detail in newly shared photos with her and Prince Harry

    The Duchess of Sussex shared a new Instagram post to celebrate the Fourth of July

    News
  • 15 hours ago

    Kate Middleton ignited major debate after breaking decades-old Wimbledon 'rule'

    Both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle broke the exact same rule - but they received very different treatment for the fashion faux pas

    News
  • 15 hours ago

    Paramedic jailed after secretly giving pregnant woman abortion pill

    Stephen Doohan has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison

    News