A MAN diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer says there are two key symptoms he dismissed – and he’s shared them in a bit to raise awareness of the deadly disease.
Joe Faratzis, 34, says his bowel cancer first started causing symptoms in 2019.
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He experienced “a dull, mild ache” in the lower right of his abdomen from time to time that “was easy to ignore and forget about”.
Joe visited his doctor who asked him about his bowel habits and referred him for scans.
But he decided not to go through with the tests, admitting he thought they were “unnecessary”.
Six months later, he noticed blood on the toilet paper when he went to the bathroom – but again, dismissed the symptom.
Read more on bowel cancer
Joe said: “I wasn’t too concerned…it was never an alarming amount and it didn’t happen every day.”
Writing in US health publication Self, Joe, from Los Angeles, added: “As a 28-year-old man I thought I was invincible, so I didn’t do anything about it.”
Two months passed and he began to bleed heavily.
It was then he decide to seek medical attention, and after a colonoscopy, was given his shocking cancer diagnosis.
Joe’s now shared his story on TikTok to raise awareness.
He said: “I sometimes kick myself thinking back to that first doctor’s appointment, and what I would have, could have, should have done.
“That whole situation, where the physician inserts a gloved finger in and around your rectum, seemed uncomfortable and embarrassing.”
But Joe received even more bad news.
When the cancer was initially picked up, it was confined to his bowel.
After the surgery, within the first few months of treatment, it “exploded” through his body.
Tumours appeared in his lungs and liver, and his condition was termed stage 4 – which is considered incurable.
Joe underwent more treatment, including surgeries in 2021 and 2022, but he’s currently clear of cancer.
However, there’s always the risk it might return.
What are the red flag warning signs of bowel cancer?
IT’S the fourth most common cancer in the UK, the second deadliest – yet bowel cancer can be cured, if you catch it early enough.
While screening is one way of ensuring early diagnosis, there are things everyone can do to reduce their risk of the deadly disease.
Being aware of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, spotting any changes and checking with your GP can prove a life-saver.
If you notice any of the signs, don’t be embarrassed and don’t ignore them. Doctors are used to seeing lots of patients with bowel problems.
The five red-flag symptoms of bowel cancer include:
- Bleeding from the back passage, or blood in your poo
- A change in your normal toilet habits – going more frequently for example
- Pain or a lump in your tummy
- Extreme tiredness
- Losing weight
Tumours in the bowel typically bleed, which can cause a shortage of red blood cells, known as anaemia. It can cause tiredness and sometimes breathlessness.
In some cases bowel cancer can block the bowel, this is known as a bowel obstruction.
Other signs include:
- Gripping pains in the abdomen
- Feeling bloated
- Constipation and being unable to pass wind
- Being sick
- Feeling like you need to strain – like doing a number two – but after you’ve been to the loo
While these are all signs to watch out for, experts warn the most serious is noticing blood in your stools.
But, they warn it can prove tricky for doctors to diagnose the disease, because in most cases these symptoms will be a sign of a less serious disease.
Joe wrote: “I asked my doctor if I was going to die…I was never given a prognosis, or survival rate, for what I’m going through.
“Even if you have stage IV cancer, if you’re able to find tumours early and have them removed, there’s a chance you could continue to live for a really long time.
“This isn’t always the case, but thankfully, my doctors have been able to surgically remove all the malignant lesions that have popped up so far.”
Joe is now advising others who find themselves facing similar symptoms so “listen to their body”.
He adds: “If I hadn’t waited – if I got the CT scan back in 2019 when I had my earliest colorectal [bowel] cancer symptoms – I might not have wound up in the position I’m in now.”
Joe’s warning comes scientists revealed England has one of the world’s fasted rising rates of bowel cancer in under-50s.
In the study by the American Cancer Society, it was the fourth fastest rise recorded, with an increase of 3.6 per cent per year, between the years 2007 and 2017.
The rise was four per cent in New Zealand and Chile, and 3.8 per cent in Puerto Rico.
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