Hayleigh Sterriker, Morecambe

I was diagnosed with bowel cancer on Monday 2 June 2025 aged 35.

I was brought up in Morecambe where I live with my husband Jordan and our two children, Zac and Paige. I’m a beauty therapist working in a family-run salon with my mum and sister.

I was diagnosed with bowel cancer from a colonoscopy after suffering from anaemia at the start of the year. I had a blood test in early May which showed that I had a low blood count. The doctor phoned me back the same day and advised me to have a blood transfusion and an iron infusion. At this appointment the consultant referred me to have a gastroscopy and a colonoscopy just to rule anything out.

When having the colonoscopy screening, the doctors found two tumours in my bowel. The discovery was a complete shock as I had no symptoms and am so young. My mum was with me when the consultant told us and we both were in complete shock. You never think it’s going to be you, and with my being so young I was in total disbelief.

From being diagnosed on 2 June, I was then scheduled to have my surgery on 25 June to remove two thirds of my large bowel. The surgery went well and I just needed to rest and recover. I managed to keep a third of my large bowel which meant I didn’t need a stoma. I was then advised to have four rounds of chemotherapy that would start eight weeks later. The recovery from the surgery was difficult and as a mother of two young children it was hard. I needed to get better for them and my family.

After my surgery my husband and I got married. It was a beautiful day shared with all our family and friends. We went away on our honeymoon, and a few days after we got back, I started my chemotherapy treatment. The chemotherapy was difficult at times. I struggled with nausea and fatigue for a few weeks after each treatment. Some days I was OK, but others were really hard.

I have now come to the end of my treatment and at the time of writing in November 2025 have a follow-up appointment with my consultant. I am also having genetic tests done for Lynch syndrome. This was discussed with me before I had my chemotherapy. This was another shock and very scary for me and my family. I had never heard of this before, so it was all unknown. I’m still waiting for my results from blood tests.

I’ve had so much support from nurses and consultants throughout my diagnosis. All throughout my chemotherapy and appointments, everyone has been so kind, and I’ve felt guided knowing I’m in safe hands. I’ve had so much support from my family and friends too which has kept me going physically and mentally. They’ve all been amazing throughout the whole thing.

When I was first diagnosed, I did need to know more about what to expect from surgery and chemotherapy and what kind of support was out there. I looked on Bowel Cancer UK’s website for this and it did help.

The message I’d like to share is that it’s not just the elderly that get bowel cancer. It’s the young as well. It can be treated very quickly though as it was in my case. I didn’t expect to be diagnosed at all, and having no symptoms, it could have been a lot worse for me.