Mum-of-two shares her bowel cancer experience and urges others to get to know the symptoms

A mum-of-two thought she was going through the menopause, but instead discovered that she had bowel cancer.

Nadine George, 52, from Alderley Edge, went to her doctor in summer 2023 for a blood test to assess what she assumed was the menopause.

The results revealed she was extremely anaemic, and this, combined with episodes of having blood in her poo during 2020, which had since stopped, meant she was sent for further tests.

On October 6, 2023, Nadine was sent for an endoscopy - a procedure using a flexible tube to look at the inside of the body - and a colonoscopy which examines the large intestine.

Following this, on October 13, Nadine was told she had bowel cancer. Luckily, it had been caught at an early stage and was treatable.

Nadine said: “I was told that they had found a tumour in my rectum and I’d need surgery. It was such a shock. Time stood still, but my mind raced as I tried to fathom what I was dealing with, the impact on my immediate family, and what it would mean for me and us.

"That was the start of a challenging journey that hit every core of me as a mum, wife, daughter, sister and friend. It touches every level of you – emotionally, physically and mentally.”

Nadine was treated by a surgeon at Wythenshawe Hospital, Sarah Duff, who she describes as “incredible”.

She had an operation where she had a full bowel resection and a stoma (an ileostomy), where an artificial opening in the tummy is created that allows poo to exit the body into a pouch or bag attached to the skin.

She said: “I had to do a lot to both mentally and physically prepare for the operation. I practised mindfulness, journaled, listened to podcasts and my favourite tunes, exercised, and followed a clean and healthy diet.

"I completed