It's so easy to dismiss little changes in the body as nothing serious. Maybe you've been feeling a bit more tired than usual, or you've got an ache that won't quite go away.
Most of the time, these things really are nothing to worry about. But sometimes they can signal something much more serious.
That's exactly what happened to one young woman who discovered she had stage three colon cancer at just 24 years old, after initially brushing off her symptoms because they seemed so ordinary.
Now, Paige Seifert is sharing her story on TikTok to encourage others to get checked out when something doesn't feel right.
Paige urges others to seek help when something doesn't feel right
|TIKTOK
She experienced three main symptoms that eventually led to her diagnosis, though she admits she ignored them at first. The first was extreme tiredness.
Paige explained: "I know this can be chalked up to a bunch of different things, whether it's work, lack of sleep, or exercise, but this, combined with all the rest, was a big indicator for me."
She also suffered from stomach problems that came and went.
"For me, it was super sporadic," she said. "I didn't have it all the time, but when I did, it just felt like something was off. Whether it was nausea or stomach pains and stomach cramping."
The third warning sign was finding blood when she went to the toilet.
Paige shared: "Blood in your stool is a huge one and is obviously going to tip you off that something is wrong.
"But I know it can be written off as a bunch of other things, like haemorrhoids, and that's what I wrote it off as. That's what the three doctors I first saw wrote it off as.
"But this, along with the other things I was experiencing, was a definite indicator that something was wrong. Hence why I kept going to the doctor and pushing for more diagnostic testing."
Paige stressed the importance of trusting your instincts and continuing to seek answers if you feel something's wrong.
The NHS explains that bowel cancer affects the large bowel, including the colon and rectum. It's one of the most common cancers in the UK.
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The early signs of bowel cancer are easy to miss | GETTYAccording to the health body, the key symptoms to watch for include:
- Changes in your toilet habits - softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that's unusual for you, or needing to go more or less often
- Blood in your poo, which might appear red or black, is another important sign.
Other symptoms include:
- Bleeding from your bottom
- Constantly feeling like you need the toilet even after you've just been
- Tummy pain
- A lump in your stomach
- Bloating
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme tiredness or breathlessness
The NHS advises seeing a doctor if you've had blood in your stool for three weeks or if you're experiencing significant pain.
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