Dr Anisha Patel blamed a busy life as a mum-of-two for dismissing her symptoms (Image: Courtesy Dr Anisha Patel)
There was no dramatic, cinematic moment when cancer entered my life. No sudden collapse, no blaring alarm bells. Instead, it was subtle. Easy to dismiss, easy to rationalise — especially when you’re busy, juggling work, motherhood, and life. I had noticed some changes to my bowel habits including constipation, urgency in needing to go, and some blood. I put it down to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and piles, and thought my tiredness was caused by my busy lifestyle as a GP and mum to two energetic children. After all, I was just 39 with no family history of cancer.
That’s the danger with bowel cancer. It doesn’t always shout. Sometimes, it whispers. Which is why I now talk so openly about the symptoms, because recognising them early can save your life. When my symptoms worsened, I went to my GP who referred me for a colonoscopy and biopsy.
Hearing the word “cancer” directed at you is something no one can prepare for. Even as a doctor, I felt the ground shift beneath me when I received my diagnosis of stage 3 bowel cancer in September 2018. Things would never be the same again. My mind didn’t go to textbooks or guidelines. It went to my children, my family, my future. I knew too much, and yet, at that moment, none of it felt like enough. I was no longer the one in control. I had two major surgeries — one to remove part of my colon and rectum along with the tumour, and another to reverse my stoma.
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Undergoing treatment for bowel cancer (Image: Courtesy Dr Anisha Patel)
I also needed three months of brutal chemotherapy. Those seven intense months of treatment were scary and I experienced a wild spectrum of emotions from anger, to confusion, to acceptance and determination to get through it. They were some of the darkest days of my life but I was lucky to have an incredible support network. Friends and family rallied around me and my kids, then aged just six and seven. Simple things like going for a walk, sharing a meal, or just being present with my family became everything.
Meanwhile, my husband continued his work as a consultant gastroenterologist, diagnosing bowel cancers and removing early tumours, as well as leading the bowel cancer screening programme at his hospital. Finally, I was cancer-free, but living with lingering physical consequences including nerve damage in my hands and feet, persistent fatigue and ongoing bowel dysfunction. And the psychological impact remained — the PTSD, the anxiety, the lingering fear of recurrence, and the grief for the life you once had. Cancer doesn’t simply end when treatment does.
Since then, my mission has been clear. I wanted to turn my pain into purpose. I didn’t just want to treat patients, I wanted to empower them because too many people are being diagnosed with bowel cancer later than they should be.
We are also seeing a worrying rise in younger people being affected, with rates in bowel cancer rising globally — people who don’t fit the “typical” picture, who are told they’re “too young”. These are people who are dismissed, or who dismiss themselves. I was one of them.
Cancer treatment isn’t just a physical marathon, it’s emotional, psychological, and deeply personal. There are parts people see: the appointments, the procedures, the “bravery”. And then there are the parts they don’t: the fear at 3am, the uncertainty before every scan, the quiet grief for the life you had before.
Cancer free at last after her ordeal (Image: Courtesy Dr Anisha Patel)
The BOWEL symptoms — a simple acronym to know the signs
- B – Blood in your poo: Whether it’s bright red or darker, never ignore it;
- O – Ongoing changes in bowel habit: Looser stools, going more often, or constipation that isn’t your norm;
- W – Weight loss (unintentional): If you’re losing weight without trying, your body is telling you something;
- E – Extreme tiredness: Not just being busy-tired—this is fatigue that doesn’t lift;
- L – Lump or abdominal pain: Persistent discomfort, bloating, or a feeling something isn’t right.
These are not “wait and see” symptoms. They are “get checked” symptoms.
Happy, healthy and cancer free today, Anisha Patel (Image: Courtesy Dr Anisha Patel)
As a doctor, I understood the system. And as a patient, I experienced it. Those are two very different things.
When treatment ends, people often say: “You must be so relieved.” Of course, there is relief but there’s also a strange, disorienting in-between. You’re no longer in active treatment but you’re not the person you were before. You live in scan cycles. You notice every symptom. You carry a quiet awareness that cancer has been part of your story, and could be again.
Survivorship isn’t a finish line. It’s a new chapter, one that requires just as much support and understanding. For stage 4 patients, this is so important too.
Through my work and advocacy, I’ve met so many people living with stage 4 bowel cancer and I need to say this clearly: stage 4 does not always mean the end and we need to be changing the narrative.
It doesn’t mean looking as if you are about to die. There are people living, working, parenting and living with hope while on treatment. This is why campaigns like Stage4You that I’m championing, matter so deeply. They give support to those living with advanced cancer, recognising the community’s unique challenges and surviving, but striving to live well.
Developed and funded by Takeda UK and supported by Bowel Cancer UK, Stage4You aims to address the real challenges and unmet needs of people living with this disease.
This month, the campaign is acknowledging something important: awareness campaigns can be overwhelming. For some, they’re empowering. For others, they’re exhausting. Both responses are valid and patients should give themselves permission to take a step back when disease awareness feels too much.
Around 130 cases of bowel cancer are detected every day in the UK (Image: Getty)
Having said that, raising awareness of bowel cancer and its symptoms is important and can save lives. If I could go back and tell myself one thing, it would be this: don’t minimise your symptoms. Don’t put yourself at the bottom of the list. Don’t assume it’s “probably nothing”. Because sometimes, it isn’t.
As doctors, we are trained to look after others but we are not immune. And neither are you.
Bowel cancer is one of the most treatable cancers if it’s caught early. That’s the part that keeps me going in this work. Awareness isn’t just about information, it’s about action. It’s about that one person who reads this and thinks: “Actually…that’s been happening to me.” And then books the appointment. That one decision could change everything.
Today, I am living in that space between gratitude and vigilance. I am back at work. In fact, cancer has become my work as an author, speaker and broadcaster. I am continuing to use my voice, perhaps louder than ever before. Cancer has changed me, not in a way I would have chosen but in a way I now choose to use.
More than 46,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year in the UK, and the disease claims around 17,000 lives annually.
This is the message I want you to take away: Please don’t wait. If you notice any of the BOWEL symptoms, get checked. Push if you need to, advocate for yourself and trust your body. Because checking your poo, attending your bowel cancer screening and knowing the symptoms could just save your life.
- Bowel Cancer awareness month runs throughout April. Dr Anisha Patel is an Ambassador supporting stage4you.org
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
