Shelby Preston, Preston

Shelby was diagnosed with stage 1 bowel cancer in July 2022, just after her 24th birthday. 

I’d been going to the doctors with bowel issues since I was 18. I’ve always struggled to gain weight and I had stomach cramps, blood in my poo and diarrhoea.

The doctor once said it was piles and I was also diagnosed with IBS. I was then on holiday with my boyfriend when I noticed a lot of blood in the toilet, and I knew at that moment that I had to push for more investigations.

When I got home, I rang the GP. They only had emergency appointments available, and I told them this is an emergency, so I was given a telephone consultation. I’d done some research and said that I thought I had polyps and I’d like a colonoscopy. They told me I was too young to have polyps but referred me to a gastroenterologist who diagnosed me with internal piles. He said, “You’re very slim, why is that?” I explained I didn’t know because I do eat quite a lot, so he booked me in for a flexible sigmoidoscopy.  

A month later I had the flexible sigmoidoscopy. I remember looking at the screen and it looked horrible. They didn’t find piles, instead they said it looked like a polyp and they took a biopsy. I went to the appointment on my own because I didn't expect anything sinister to come of it, so I sat in a room by myself for twenty minutes waiting for an update, it was a really scary experience. The doctor came in and said it looks benign, but they need to do biopsies.  

Two days later they called me and asked me to come back, but to bring someone with me. 

I went to the appointment with my mum. As we were pulling up to the hospital, I got a call from another hospital booking me in for an MRI and a CT scan. I knew this meant it wasn’t good and once I got to the appointment, they told me it was cancer. It was a strangely positive chat because the doctor said that even though it’s cancer, it’s very early and so can be removed by a minimally invasive procedure called TEMS (Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery) where they go up through the rectum and cut it out that way, so it doesn’t affect your bowel function.  

I had another flexible sigmoidoscopy to take more biopsies. These came back more suggestive of cancer than the first ones I’d had. Due to this result, they put forward the idea of major surgery, which was lower tier resection, rather than TEMS. It was a really difficult decision to make. With TEMS, there’s less chance of having to get a stoma, but they can’t check your lymph nodes to stage your cancer and there’s a higher occurrence rate. With the lower tier resection, this is the gold standard and can test for everything, but there’s more chance of a stoma.  

I knew in my heart that I wanted to go for the lower tier resection because I’d rather over-treat than under-treat and potentially regret it in the future.  

Before the surgery we didn’t know if it had spread to my lymph nodes. If it had, I would need chemotherapy which comes with the risk of infertility. I want kids, so I asked to be referred to the fertility clinic. Me and my partner went through treatment and got a good amount of embryos and eggs, which took a huge stress off me.  

It’s been a difficult journey because I’ve had to think about things not a lot of 24-year-olds are thinking about. With this and COVID, it feels I’ve lost a lot of my early 20’s. Even though I had a great support system, I was in a situation no one around me could relate to.  

In November, I had the surgery which was successful. I got a temporary stoma, and I was told the cancer was stage 1 and that I didn’t need chemotherapy.  

Getting used to the stoma was hard. It's like having an alien on you and it's hard to get your head around. I'm quite squeamish, so having to change it was really intense, but I feel like I dealt with it fairly well. Being a younger woman too meant I was scared to get out there with my friends again, but I got used to it. You don’t realise how easy it is to cover the bag with your clothes and it stopped bothering me because I no longer had any pains.  

I had the stoma for nine months, then had a reversal. It’s been difficult since then because of my altered bowel function and I’ve been getting a lot of stomach aches. With the stoma I had a sense of security, but now things are more unpredictable. It's very trial and error on what foods I can eat. People say eat healthy, but that can cause a lot of issues as well. I’m trying to get a referral to a dietician to help me figure it out.  

I don’t regret the surgery I had and if this is what I have to deal with to be clear of cancer, then this is what I have to do. I’ve since had my first clear scan and I’m getting back to my normal life. Having cancer so young makes you appreciate the little things more. I feel so lucky and blessed to be alive.