Aisling Gallagher said she felt so healthy she didn’t even feel the need to register with a GP
Aisling Gallagher(Image: Jam Press/galsgoss)
A woman wants people to be aware of the warning signs after being diagnosed with a deadly disease at just 28 years of age.
Aisling Gallagher is speaking out as alarming new figures reveal a sharp rise in cancer rates among younger people. Aisling was “super healthy” and thriving in her dream job when an urgent dash to the toilet sparked a life-altering diagnosis that left her devastated. The young woman had noticed a change in her bowel habits, finding herself needing to rush to the loo with increasing “urgency”.
After she began passing blood in her stool and suffering from bloating, she eventually sought help from her GP, and a colonoscopy several months later uncovered the cause. While Aisling’s ordeal may appear uncommon, newly published statistics from Cancer Research UK reveal that overall cancer incidence rates amongst 25 to 49-year-olds in the UK soared 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 NeedToKnow.
Aisling suffered with bloating and blood in her stool(Image: Jam Press/galsgoss)
“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.”
At the time, Aisling was living her “dream job” as a personal shopper for Topshop in London, and had initially dismissed her early symptoms of needing to rush to the toilet more often. She explained: “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 wasn’t until she returned home in March 2020 that she finally sought medical advice. While an initial examination was conducted and further tests were arranged, lockdown was announced just two days afterwards, grinding everything to a halt.
Between March and August , Aisling’s condition “quickly deteriorated”. She had lost a stone in weight owing to a lack of appetite, and was continuing to notice blood in her stool. Aisling recalled: “It was extremely scary – I knew deep down something was very wrong.”
Aisling undergoing treatment in 2021(Image: Jam Press/galsgoss)
Blood tests were eventually arranged and she was called in urgently for a colonoscopy – which revealed a tumour in her rectum, resulting in the devastating diagnosis of stage-two rectal cancer. Shortly after, the firm she was employed by went into administration, compelling her to uproot her London life and head back home.
Treatment commenced swiftly in October 2020, with pelvic radiation therapy coupled with oral chemotherapy aimed at shrinking the tumour. Unfortunately, this approach didn’t yield results, leading Aisling to undergo anterior resection surgery in February 2021, which involved the temporary fitting of a stoma. She recalled: “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.” Come April, she faced another six months of chemotherapy.
Aisling learnt that her fertility would be sacrificed due to the treatment, and she’s now navigating 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 worked, and by November Aisling received the all-clear, with her stoma reversal surgery taking place the month after. She’s documented her entire experience over the last six years – a mission she’s passionate about to raise awareness around bowel cancer.
Aisling shared: “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.”