Irritable Bowel Syndrome: 39-Year-Old Woman With Terminal Illness Misdiagnosed Due to IBS and Colon Cancer's Similar Symptoms

Clair Gunn, 39, sought medical care after receiving a misdiagnosis for three years. She was initially told that she had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but she has a terminal illness according to her most recent diagnosis.

Gunn, a mother of two from Stockport, England, has been told she has terminal colon cancer, Washington Newsday reported.

The woman consulted the doctor shortly after she gave birth to her daughter in 2019 and was eventually got the correct diagnosis.

Gunn, who was 39 when she was diagnosed with cancer, is now 40 years old. She was told that she may only have one year to live.

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Misdiagnosis

In a similar Newsweek report, Gunn said she was misdiagnosed with IBS. She added, her primary physician said they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.

She was given many different medications, although they didn't seem helpful. She felt hurting sensations in her legs after she gave birth to her second child, so she went back to consult her doctor three years later.

The woman was then confined at the hospital, where physicians learned she had colon cancer and not IBS. Her appendix had been punctured, and her colon needed to be surgically taken out.

She explained that bowel cancer is typically linked to much older people, although there has to be a much greater awareness that people her age are also suffering.

Similarity Between Colon Cancer and IBS Symptoms

Based on medical reports, some of the symptoms of IBS and colon cancer are similar. Such similarities include diarrhea, weight loss, stomach pain, cramping, and blood in, or on the stool.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the colorectal cancer rate among people below 50 years old has increased since the 1990s. More so, the disease, which has usually been linked to older folks, kills a growing number of younger individuals.

Researchers are now looking at a probable association between this trend and the environmental problems like toxins in food, air, soil, and water pollution, as well as the use of pesticides, the National Institutes of Health said.

A Healthline report said that since IBS and colon cancer are affecting the same part of the body, they share similar symptoms. Thus, it's essential to know the differences.

What Lies Ahead

This woman received many rounds of treatment after her diagnosis. Such treatments include surgery and chemotherapy. Following this, in 2020, she was also given the "all-clear" result.

Gunn's colostomy bag was scheduled to be taken out in January of this year. However, physicians found out that cancer had already spread to her liver and gallbladder, and her illness was not curable.

Now, she's waiting for her physicians to decide if she would qualify for additional treatment that might extend her life by five years. She had been told that she might not live for long if she did not get treatment .

Related information about the link between cancer and IBS is shown on Providence's YouTube video below: