For a long time, people thought bowel cancer was mainly an older person’s problem, something you’d only start worrying about after you retired. But that’s changing. Doctors everywhere are sounding alarms because more young adults are getting colorectal cancer.The scariest part of the story? Many shrug off the symptoms as just stress, diet issues, or regular stomach troubles.Take Laura, a 38-year-old mum with two kids. She never imagined she could get bowel cancer at her age. Her story’s gone viral online, not because it’s dramatic, but because the symptom she ignored is the one experts warn about most.Let’s take a close look.
Laura’s story of getting diagnosed with bowel cancer: What happened?
According to the Daily Express, Laura was diagnosed last June. Since then, she’s gone through four rounds of chemo and has basically chronicled her journey on TikTok, where she has more than 18,000 followers. In a video, she opens up about the symptom she brushed off, thinking it was “normal.“ Looking back, she captioned it, “I would have done things A LOT differently.” Her biggest regret? Not listening to her own body.
What did Laura ignore?
Laura noticed blood in her stool but figured it was just haemorrhoids or some minor stomach bug. She was busy, tired, and assumed cancer was something only older people needed to worry about. By the time she decided to get checked out, she was told she had stage 3 bowel cancer. The shock changed everything.“I was always tired and just thought ‘this is normal,’” Laura said. It’s not hard to relate; anyone juggling work and young children probably feels exhausted. She added, “I’ve got really young kids, I’m working, I don’t stop ever — I’m going to be tired. But actually my body was trying to tell me, ‘Hey, something’s wrong.’”
Her greatest regret?
Not going to her GP sooner. She wonders if catching it earlier might have helped her avoid chemo completely.Even now, Laura says, “In fact, that was the only symptom my body gave me that I had cancer, and I think a lot of us feel tired a lot of the time.”
Why doctors say this matters
Per the CDC, right now, rising colorectal cancer rates among younger adults are worrying health experts everywhere. Nobody’s totally sure why these numbers keep climbing, but one thing is clear: delayed diagnoses happen because people ignore symptoms.For Laura, the earliest red flag was blood in her stool. Like so many others, she rationalised it away: haemorrhoids, stress, maybe a little digestive upset. She didn’t feel urgently ill, just tired. There was no collapse, no dramatic emergency, no pain you’d see in a movie — just that one symptom she kept dismissing.And that’s precisely what makes bowel cancer so sneaky. Symptoms can be subtle, easy to brush off, or mixed up with something far less dangerous. People wait, hope it’ll pass, then months slip by.The NHS lists blood in stool, changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain, unexplained fatigue, bloating, and unexplained weight loss as common signs. Doctors say blood in stool always needs a closer look, especially if it keeps happening or you notice other changes.A recent study in JAMA Network Open confirmed that younger colorectal cancer patients often had overlooked signs for ages—misattributed, ignored, or shrugged off.Laura’s advice? If you feel wiped out, can’t shake the fatigue no matter how much sleep you’re getting, “please take this as a sign to go and get your bloods checked.” Have that conversation with your GP and get to the bottom of it.“And for goodness sake, if they tell you you’re anaemic, please have a FIT test.” (That’s a Faecal Immunochemical Test, which looks for blood in your stool, which is a key marker for bowel cancer.)
Why ‘too young’ isn’t true anymore
Lots of young cancer patients describe this weird feeling of denial when symptoms show up: “I’m too young for cancer!” It makes sense, but it’s outdated. Even though bowel cancer hits older adults more often, earlier diagnoses are happening so much that screening ages are dropping. In the US, routine screening now starts at 45 instead of 50.Most digestive complaints are still just that: complaints. But the danger is in ignoring persistent symptoms over and over again. Blood in your stool, changes in bathroom habits, constant stomach discomfort, unexplained exhaustion, don’t just wait and hope.
What happens after diagnosis?
Laura’s talked openly about how shocking it was to get a bowel cancer diagnosis while balancing kids and daily life. Younger patients often say cancer is extra confusing because it comes at a stage when you’re supposed to be building your life, not managing hospital appointments.Treatment depends hugely on when you’re diagnosed. Early-stage cancer is much easier to treat, sometimes just with surgery. Later stages can mean chemo, radiation, immunotherapy, or extended hospital stays.That’s why awareness campaigns focus on timing, instead of fear. Doctors want people to notice symptoms early and take action. It makes a massive difference.