'I was wrongly diagnosed and told I had haemorrhoids for months before traumatic diagnosis'

A woman says she it 'terrified' after cancer had been 'eating away' her bowel while her doctors told her she had haemorrhoids instead. Lisa Snooks says she was told to continue her treatment for haemorrhoids for months.

But the 43-year-old suffered excruciating pain that continued to get worse. Having pushed for cancer tests, an endoscopy and MRI revealed she was living with an aggressive form of anal cancer.

While Lisa is now in remission, her treatment has left her with low platelet count, having suffered damage to her bone marrow. The same condition caused her brother's death in February 2021 - and now Lisa is worried about her own future.

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She said: "If I had been seen earlier and I wasn't wrongly treated for six months, my bowel wouldn't have been eaten away. To have anal cancer is not something I've ever heard of - as soon as you notice the smallest symptoms go to the doctors straight away.

"I don't remember much after being told I had cancer, I started crying and thought I was going to die and my life was over - I was just broken. It's terrifying, I lost my brother to low blood platelet count which I now have - I have the same faulty gene.

"I'm wondering if I'm going to beat this or die the same way as him, it's scary to beat cancer and still be in the same position." Lisa, from Barry, South Wales, first went to the doctor after experiencing haemorrhoid-like symptoms in June 2021.

The former lettings branch manager was prescribed treatments such as suppositories for five months. But her symptoms grew worse and she pushed for further tests.

She had an endoscopy in February 2022, before being rushed for an MRI