'I threw two bowel cancer screening kits in the bin before being diagnosed' - Oldbury grandmother urges people to 'get tested'

Karen Stephens, aged 64, says she almost lost her life through ‘pride and embarrassment’ after refusing to visit the doctor with tummy cramps and diarrhoea.

She was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in November 2023 and put on a type of immunotherapy, normally only used for womb cancer but it shrunk the cancer so much it could be operated on in April 2024.

Now the mum of four and grandmother of 11 has welcomed the announcement of a £5.5million grant from Cancer Research UK and partners to find kinder, better treatments for people living with bowel cancer.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham will be part of a new global team of bowel cancer research experts from the UK and Europe in a new initiative, aiming to solve unanswered questions about the disease by bringing together research expertise from across the world.

The funding coincides with Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in April and Karen said she was lucky to be alive after ignoring symptons for months.

She said: "At first, I thought I’d caught a bug from one of the grandchildren, then I thought it was IBS but I wouldn’t go to the doctors because I was embarrassed. Before all this I’d thrown two bowel test kits in the bin.

"“I nearly lost my life through sheer pride and embarrassment and there’s no doubt I wouldn’t be here if I’d left it. 

"I would have left it if I hadn’t been nagged by my daughter in law who’s a nurse. 

“When I was diagnosed I just went numb. All I could think about was ‘am I going to die?" 

“They told me the tumour was inoperable and  I would need chemotherapy and radiotherapy. 

"Then, out of the blue, one of the doctors said he was going to try a new drug.

"After four months, it had shrunk the cancer so much that it could be operated on.

"Now I shout it from the rooftops and tell anyone who will listen.”

The former carer is now back on her feet and backing a Cancer Research UK drive to help save more lives from bowel cancer – the UK’s second most common cause of cancer death, killing 1,500 people in the West Midlands every year.

She is urging people across the region to donate monthly to the charity - the largest funder of bowel cancer research in the UK - to help fund the next big breakthrough and put any awkwardness aside when it comes to talking about poo and bowel habbits

Paula Young from Cancer Research UK said: "Common symptoms of bowel cancer can include a change in your normal bowel habits (such as needing to go for a poo more often, looser poo or constipation); bleeding from the bottom or blood in poo; unexplained tiredness or breathlessness; losing weight without trying to and tummy pain or a lump in the stomach.

"But the most important thing people can do is listen to their body and, no matter the change, speak to their doctor if something isn’t normal for them."

For more details about bowel cancer, visit https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/bowel-cancer