A woman in Greater Manchester, England, was hours away from death because she didn’t recognize that she was experiencing symptoms of colon cancer. In 2023, Chloe Wakelin, a day care worker, believed she caught a stomach bug from the children she worked with when she began feeling lethargic and started having pains her her abdomen.
The 25-year-old even believed that she might have caught the illness from her own 6-year-old daughter. When she went to get checked out, doctors assured her the illness was minor.
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Then one day in December of that year, Wakelin had a vomiting episode that made her wonder if her “stomach bug” was something more serious, the Daily Mail reports. She noticed that the color of her vomit was dark, “like cigarette tar.”
After some back and forth, doctors eventually diagnosed her with Stage 3 colon cancer. The severity of the illness left her susceptible to infection. She developed sepsis, a condition where harmful microorganisms enter the blood. The condition is life-threatening, often leading to the shutting down of organs, shock, and death.
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As doctors continued to treat her, they estimated that the mother was 12 hours away from death. Eventually, they cut away approximately 10 inches of her bowel in order to save her life. Afterward, Wakelin underwent chemotherapy. Now, in remission, she says she feels “let down” by the doctors. She wants to raise awareness about the symptoms of colon cancer we don’t often discuss.
Wakelin says she was experiencing bloating, nausea, and fatigue. While doctors tested her for Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and pregnancy, they ultimately attributed her symptoms to a stomach bug.
Because she is young, she never “for one second” suspected that it was cancer. Even after the dark vomit incident, there was still some time before Wakelin got a proper diagnosis. In January 2024, Wakelin noticed she was turning yellow.
Doctors performed a CT scan and found the tumor in her colon. By this time she was septic. “I was told that if I didn’t have the surgery, I would have had 12 hours to live because my kidney and my liver were failing,” she said.
After surgery, the recovery was not an easy ride. Wakelin was fitted for a stoma, an artificial opening that allowed her waste to exit the body into a colostomy bag. Now, she wants to issue a warning.
“I’d just like to remind everyone to not be ashamed to go to their GP about any symptoms they may be having, no matter your age. It can affect anyone,” she said.
In fact, experts are warning of the increase in bowel cancers affecting younger people. They’re attributing the spike in these numbers to obesity, over-use of antibiotics, mobile phone radiation, and even the consumption of plastic particles. Others believe it’s the increase in processed foods.
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