I thought I had a UTI but the diagnosis was much worse - I've now been given months to live

A woman, aged just 25, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer after initially mistaking her symptoms for a urinary tract infection (UTI). Ellie Wilcock experienced sharp abdominal pains and fatigue, which she and doctors first thought were signs of a UTI.

Despite the pain being on one side of her abdomen, medical professionals considered issues with her reproductive system or an ovarian cyst as possible causes. The reality, however, was much graver; Ellie was suffering from the most advanced stage of cancer, with the disease having spread throughout her body, reports Surrey Live.

Bowel cancer cases are on the rise among people under 50, prompting Ellie to use TikTok as a platform to share her story and alert others to the early warning signs that preceded her diagnosis.

"It [the pain] was in my left hand side. It was because the tumour was obstructing my large bowel. I thought it was more like urinary pain... doctors thought it was a UTI," Ellie said in a video that has now been viewed over 400,000 times. In another post, she disclosed that some doctors had suspected an ovarian cyst, yet she was exhibiting symptoms more typically linked to bowel cancer, including alternating bouts of diarrhoea and constipation.

Ellie, from Peterborough, shared her harrowing story, revealing: "For me, it was a constant change between the two but it just wasn't normal for me, and fatigue. I would come home from work and just want to lie down and go to bed. I was really tired, I was really fatigued. Even sat at my desk, I was falling asleep I was so tired."

She further explained one significant symptom after spotting blood in her stool: "At the time I didn't think I had this but on reflection I did and just didn't notice it. This could be a range of colours, it could be bright red or a dark red. But anything that isn't normal for you and you've noticed consistent blood in your poo then get it checked out. It is nothing to be embarrassed about. The sooner you look at it, the sooner you get it out the way."

The NHS advises people who experience symptoms continuously for more than three weeks to see their GP to dismiss conditions like irritable bowel syndrome or to address other health concerns.

Beginning her journey to a diagnosis, Ellie first went to her doctor in April 2022, where they excluded a UTI but found signs of inflammation, prompting the scheduling of an ultrasound with the suspicion of an ovarian cyst in mind.

But as her condition deteriorated, a visit to A&E led to her receiving a life-changing diagnosis.

After discovering that her cancer had spread to her liver, ovaries, and the peritoneum, Ellie underwent several surgeries before receiving the uplifting news in August that there was no further evidence of the disease. In a recent TikTok video, Ellie shared: "I always say cancer can happen to anyone, it doesn't discriminate. It is just a bulldozer that moves into people's lives and it fills waiting rooms with people, all with their own stories, their own families fighting this horrible disease," also stressing the critical need for timely medical consultations when symptoms arise.

With an unexplained rise in bowel cancer cases among under-50s, the NHS website has listed persistent indications such as tiredness, shortness of breath, and headaches, which may suggest anaemia due to the condition.