Teen was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer after being dismissed THIRTEEN times by doctors who told her she was ‘too young’ to get the disease – these were her symptoms

A woman who has been diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer has revealed how her symptoms were dismissed 13  times by doctors who told her she was ‘too young’ to get the disease.

Milli Tanner, from Evesham, Worcestershire, West Midlands, first went to her GP in June 2021, when she was 19 years old, with stomach pains, lower back pain and blood in her stool.

That was the start of a long and arduous process which saw her rack up more than a dozen visits to her local doctor and A&E until November 2023.

During her visits, Ms Tanner, now 23, was told she probably had piles, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or period problems.

Doctors also suggested that she had possibly ‘had too much to drink’ on a night out and was dealing with the consequences.

But in reality she had a potentially deadly tumour which has since spread to her lymph nodes and has forced her to have her eggs collected due to the risk cancer treatment will make her infertile.

Ms Tanner has also had chemotherapy and radiotherapy, surgery, and has been fitted with a permanent stoma.

Now, she wants to highlight the risks of cancer to fellow young people, as she recalled the delay in her diagnosis.

Ms Tanner said of her first visit to the GP: ‘They said that maybe I’d had a night out, had too much to drink, and that was irritating my stomach.

‘But the bleeding carried on, as well as the abdominal pain… it was continuous.

‘There were discussions at the GP, such as: could it be my periods? Could it be this, could it be that?

‘And I said: “No, usually with a period, it’s maybe you have a week every month with a bit of abdominal pain, and you obviously bleed, and that’s that, but you don’t tend to lose blood through your back passage.”‘

Ms Tanner said she continued going to her GP, who referred her for an ultrasound to check for gallstones before a later session with a physiotherapist to check for potential back pain.

At this point, she says doctors put it ‘pretty much just put down to piles’ and used the fact that she was working in a pub at the time down to why she was frequently feeling so tired.

However, Ms Tanner was continuously bleeding every time she went to the toilet.

‘I was also showing pictures of the amount of blood I was having – every time I went to the toilet I was bleeding,’ she added.

‘I said: “It’s not a little bit of blood on the tissue, this is clots of blood and filling the toilet bowl up.”‘

During one visit to A&E, Ms Tanner was told to go back to her GP.

‘I asked for a second opinion. The doctor come back into the room, said: “Right, I’ve just spoken to another A&E department. You’re just too young. Are you happy?”‘

Ms Tanner eventually ordered herself a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) online, which looks for tiny traces of blood in the stool that could indicate bowel cancer.

The test was positive and Ms Tanner took her results to her GP, but it was several more months before the GP ordered a FIT test on the NHS.

Ms Tanner said: ‘The GP did put through a referral for a colonoscopy but I had a phone call to say it was a 60-week wait.

It was eventually uncovered that Ms Tanner (pictured) had a tumour which has spread to her lymph nodes and has forced her to have her eggs collected due to the risk cancer treatment will make her infertile

‘They were following the NHS guidelines, and because I was under a certain age, it apparently couldn’t be put through as urgent until they did their own FIT test.

‘Once the GP had ordered their own FIT test and it was positive, they were able to put it through as urgent.’

But at this point, Ms Tanner said she already knew ‘deep down’ that she had bowel cancer. 

‘I knew deep down exactly what it was,’ she said. ‘I’d done my own research. It was frustrating. I felt like I was going crazy.’

Ms Tanner, who now works as a cleaner, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in November 2023 following the urgent colonoscopy.

She said: ‘I saw the mass straight away. I saw it on the screen, and I just said: “What’s that?”‘

‘And the doctor said: “It’s a tumour.” ‘I said: “Is it cancer?” And she said: “I’m really sorry.”‘

By this point, the disease had spread to Ms Tanner’s lymph nodes and was Stage 3.

While she has been left perimenopausal, Ms Tanner’s most recent CT scan and colonoscopy showed no signs of cancer.

She said: ‘It was such a massive issue and stress getting diagnosed. I had at least 20 health appointments, including 13 GP appointments and a visit to A&E where I was told I was too young to have cancer.

‘I had always been maternal, so it was heartbreaking to learn I might be infertile. I’d say to people: “you know your own body better than anybody else does”. If it feels wrong, then keep going back until you find what is wrong.’

Amy Harding, director of services and impact at the Teenage Cancer Trust, said: ‘Milli’s story, although extreme, is sadly not unique. 

‘We know from recent evidence and through the young people that we support, that far too often the path to a cancer diagnosis is challenging, traumatic and too long for young people who face delays to diagnosis.

‘The National Cancer Plan for England has the potential to create the vital changes needed for young people with cancer.

‘However, it must include strong and targeted measures, including empowering primary care professionals to spot the signs of cancer in young people.

‘Although cancer is rare in this group, it shouldn’t be off the table just because of patient age.’

According to Cancer Research UK, rates of bowel cancer in teenagers and young people up to the age of 24 have increased by 74 per cent since the early 1990s.

The Daily Mail has approached the Department of Health for comment.