For over a year, Ann Marie Flynn from Loughrea, Co Galway had been having issues going to the bathroom. “I was constipated for about 14 months in total,” she says. “I had gone to the chemist at one stage and was given different things to take to get the bowel to work. But they didn’t help and I often had to go to bed because cramps were so bad.”
She visited her GP, who prescribed a laxative, which she remained on for a year. Then in August 2023, Ann Marie, who was 58 at the time, was hospitalised with suspected colitis.
“That was absolutely horrendous. I don't remember anything much about it because my son found me and I was unresponsive,” she says. “It started that morning with really bad cramps and diarrhoea. I just thought I was having one of those really bad days, but it went on continuously. My husband and son called an ambulance. I was in ICU for eight days and my kidneys had started to shut down. I had four scans, and these indicated colitis.”
"That was the first time I really sat down and talked about it and got frightened."
Following on from this, Ann Marie had a scope in October which showed some abnormalities. She had a second scope in November and on December 20 she was told that she had bowel cancer.
“My world turned upside down,” she says of hearing her diagnosis. “I felt like I was looking in on someone else’s story. They wanted me to call John, my husband, and I said I didn’t want to, I’d tell him myself. I wanted to put it to the back of my mind. I babysit my grandchildren twice a week and all I wanted to do was to get out of the hospital and get back to them in time to mind them.”
At first, it was thought that Ann Marie’s cancer was contained. However, further scans revealed an active spot on her lung. She was given the option of having a third of her lung removed, or just the spot itself. Because the tumour in her lung was related to her bowel cancer, she decided to just have the spot removed. In January, she had surgery and a bowel reconstruction.
Ann recently discovered that she has stage 4 cancer. “That was very hard to come to terms with,” she says. “That was the first time I really sat down and talked about it and got frightened. But they said the tumour in my bowel is gone, the spot on my lung is gone, and it’s really just a case of keeping things under control. Many people live long lives with stage 4. It’s just a matter of constant scans and scopes and that’s how I’m looking at it.”
She is currently undergoing four different types of chemotherapy and will have 12 rounds of this. “I haven’t been sick at all, and I’ve had some very mild nausea so I’m really hoping I can get to round 12 in September,” she says.
Ann Marie called the Irish Cancer Society Support Line she learned that she had stage 4 cancer. “I rang because I was having really dark thoughts. The nurse spoke to me for an hour and a half and she range me back the next day. I felt so much better. I can’t thank her enough; she was a lifesaver.”
"If you’re getting cramps or not going to the toilet properly, just go and see your doctor."
She is sharing her story because she wants more people to know about and to talk about bowel cancer and its symptoms.
“With the constipation, I suppose somewhere deep in the back of my mind, I knew that it wasn’t right. When I had gone back to my doctor and told him the laxatives were only keep the cramps at bay, but they’re not doing anything for the constipation, but I didn’t push and I got a repeat prescription so that I wasn’t actually seeing him to explain my symptoms. If you’re getting cramps or not going to the toilet properly, just go and see your doctor. People don’t like talking about it, and I understand that, but if your bowel movements change, go see your GP.”
She has tried to adopt a positive attitude throughout, focussing on her family and her grandchildren. “I’m being positive because there are always new treatments coming down the line. With me, when I heard stage 4, I thought, ‘that's it, I'm gone’. But it's not the case at all. Talk to your caregiver and they'll explain properly. They can reassure you that there is life after stage 4.”
This Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, and every month, the Irish Cancer Society is urging the Irish public to be mindful of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer.
Symptoms such as changes in your toilet habits, blood in your poo, weight loss, pain or bloating in your abdomen area can be caused by other things. But if your symptoms have gone on for more than 3 weeks, please go to your GP.
We are also urging all those who are eligible to take part in lifesaving bowel cancer screening.
For any bowel cancer related queries, you can also contact the Irish Cancer Society’s freephone Support Line at 1800 200 700 or email supportline@irishcancer.ie.
