Cancer is a significant problem in the UK. But physicians continue to overlook symptoms, with patients experiencing delayed diagnoses despite pain and other warning signs.
Stomach cancer, in particular, appears to be on the rise among younger women under 55, with no clear causes to explain this trend.
British director Mick Dow recently opened up about his battle with the disease in hopes of helping others spot it in its infancy.
“I started getting the symptoms of IBS or colitis, which was bleeding in my stool, a lot of diarrhoea and swelling in my belly,” he shared on TikTok. “All of these, I think, were coming from the IBS. However, at the same time, I was noticing some other slight differences which didn’t equate to IBS or colitis.
Mick didn't think much of his symptoms
TIKTOK / MICK.DOW1
“I’d gone to the doctor about feeling like I had something in my throat that I couldn’t swallow.”
“I also had a sense of fullness. I would describe it as tightness on the top of my belly. I felt like my belly wouldn’t stretch as much; there was less stretch in it.”
Although Mick felt he could continue eating the same-sized portions, the aftereffects became increasingly bothersome.
“I felt like I was stiffer,” he reflected, noting that this was accompanied by a lot of “acidic burping". He went on: “It felt like the food wasn’t moving from my stomach.”
With hindsight, many cancer patients discover that the warning signs were long present before their diagnosis.
Dr Jen Caudle recently outlined several symptoms that tend to develop over time.
“Symptoms that can happen as time goes on [ are] trouble swallowing, abdominal pain, or feeling bloated and uncomfortable after eating,” she explained on social media. “Feeling full or not feeling hungry in the way you think you should feel hungry.”
Another major red flag that doctors quickly recognise in patients is weight loss.
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Early signs of stomach cancer are easy to miss
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“Losing weight is always a symptom that we doctors are concerned about it being cancer," she explained.
“Many cancers cause unintentional weight loss, so that’s always a warning sign."
According to Dr Caudle, symptoms are uncommon in the earlier stages, so even the most minor bodily changes should be monitored closely.
“The big message here is that if you have any symptoms that are unusual for you, like abdominal pain or indigestion, things that are just not usual for you, make sure that you get checked out," she told viewers.
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