My GP told me I had IBS for almost a decade… then I was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer, aged just 27

A mother-of-one has told how doctors dismissed her incurable bowel cancer as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) for almost a decade.

Beth Stichbury, from Tonbridge in Kent, suddenly began experiencing stomach problems in 2015 and first went to her GP aged 20 when she suffered constipation and occasional bleeding.

But the now 27-year-old claimed despite visiting the GP eight times over more than six years she was she was told it was IBS and ‘nothing to worry about’. 

It was only when the symptom persisted that she was finally referred for a colonoscopy in August 2024. 

Test results soon revealed it was stage four cancer, meaning the disease had spread elsewhere in her body including her liver and lungs. 

The disturbing rise of colorectal cancer—also known as colon or bowel cancer—in under 50s has baffled doctors around the globe. 

The disease—which also claimed the life of Dame Deborah James at the age of 40—has surged by 50 per cent this age-group over the past three decades.  

Now, Ms Stichbury, a dental nurse, is calling on people to recognise the little-known signs of the cancer and not to give up if they think something isn’t right with their body.

Beth Stichbury, from Tonbridge in Kent, suddenly began experiencing stomach problems in 2015 and first went to her GP aged 20 when she suffered constipation and occasional bleeding. Pictured, with her daughter Willow during her wedding day in August

The now 27-year-old claimed despite visiting the GP eight times over six years she was she was told it was IBS and ‘nothing to worry about’

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She is also considering legal action over the fact her symptoms were misdiagnosed for so long. 

Recalling her heartbreaking ordeal, Ms Stichbury said: ‘I never thought it would be anything really harmful. I was always told that I had IBS, and it turns out I probably didn’t.

‘I was driving to Sainsburys when they called me to say that I had cancer. After doing some research into the type of cancer, I fit the description almost perfectly.

‘It wasn’t a total shock. I was somewhat relieved in a way that there was something that could be done. Obviously, I didn’t expect that my journey would end up how it is.

‘It is heartbreaking, but by that point I was prepared for it.’

There are around 44,000 cases of bowel cancer every year in the UK and 142,000 in the US, making it the fourth most common cancer in both countries.

Symptoms often include changes in bowel movements such as consistent and new diarrhoea or constipation, needing or feeling the need to poo more or less frequently and blood in the stool.

Stomach pain, a lump in the stomach, bloating, unexpected weight-loss and fatigue are among other signs. 

Ms Stichbury has undergone surgery and had a stoma fitted. She is also undertaking chemotherapy and has vowed to continue with it ‘until it stops working’ 

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Anyone experiencing these symptoms should contact their GP for advice. 

Although the vast majority of bowel cancer diagnoses affect those aged over 50, rates in older age-groups has either declined or held stable while diagnoses in younger adults have risen by 50 per cent over the last 30 years.

Cancer Research UK estimates that over half (54 per cent) of bowel cancer cases in the UK are preventable. 

Doctors have suggested obesity, antibiotic over-use, mobile phone radiation and even invisible particles of plastic in drinking water are potential triggers. 

However a growing number of experts are also pointing ultra-processed foods as a cause. 

Ms Stichbury has undergone surgery and had a stoma fitted. She is also undertaking chemotherapy and has vowed to continue with it ‘until it stops working’. 

She hopes to partake in any clinical trials available.

She added: ‘I have extreme pain all day every day. I am incredibly weak, and I can’t do what I used to do or what a normal 27-year-old should be able to do.

Now, Ms Stichbury is also intending to take legal action through frustration that her symptoms were dismissed and misdiagnosed for so long

The former ballet teacher says that she believes doctors ignored her symptoms due to her young age and physical fitness

‘I have forgotten what it feels like to stand up and not be in pain. I miss the normal things like taking my daughter to the park. I don’t have the energy anymore. I miss out on a lot.

‘The likelihood of the cancer killing me is relatively high. I just want to see as many milestones with my daughter as I can. I would love to see her go to school.

‘My family were all very confused. We were all very hopeful at first because I am young so the mentality was that I would be alright. 

‘I think we were all a bit naive on what this cancer was capable of.’

Now, Ms Stichbury is also intending to take legal action through frustration that her symptoms were dismissed and misdiagnosed for so long.

She said: ‘I went to the GP about eight times before something was done. Every time that I went I was told it was something else. I always believed my GP. The doctors just told me to drink more water and focus on my diet.

‘I was very frustrated when I finally found out because I knew and everyone who knew me knew that I had problems for years.

‘It was something that was very prominent in my life and I feel that because of my age I was not their typical suspect for this cancer, so they just presumed it was something else.

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Dame Deborah James, nicknamed the ‘bowel babe’ raised more than £11.3mn for Cancer Research and is credited for increasing awareness of the disease, which killed her in 2022 aged 40

‘If tests were done then they would have known much earlier that I was suffering with this.’

The former ballet teacher says that she believes they ignored her symptoms due to her young age and physical fitness.

Since being diagnosed, she has created symptom posters which she has put up in public places and handed out in the street to encourage other young people to get checked.

She said: ‘I hope that more young people become aware of the symptoms.

‘I wish I had advocated for myself better. Things might have been different if I had researched my symptoms myself.

‘Age means absolutely nothing when it comes to cancer and they need to be aware that it can happen to anyone.

‘It is the fourth deadliest cancer in the world now and that is because it is killing people under the age of 40 who are not being screened.’