"How I Mistook Cancer for Stress: The Subtle Signs That Led Me to Seek Help"

FEELING tired and stressed, Anita Mellanby wasn’t surprised – she was planning a wedding and had just started a new job.

It was only a niggling back pain that prompted her to see her in 2024.

Anita Mellanby had a nasty shock when she sought help for back pain Credit: Supplied Mum-of-two Anita, above with fiancé Kristian, was diagnosed with staged three bowel cancer despite having no typical symptoms of the deadly disease Credit: Supplied

“I didn’t think for a minute that by the end of the month I would be diagnosed with stage three ,” the mum-of-two tells Sun Health.

“My fiancé Kristian, my two daughters and I were all so shocked because I didn’t feel ill. You just never think it will happen to you.”

Then 50 years old, Anita, from Tiverton, , felt otherwise and had no typical symptoms of the disease – the in the UK.

She simply felt bogged down with the fatigue of midlife.

It comes as warned cases of cancer for the first time.

It’s a record high driven by a growing, ageing population – as well as high rates of with two thirds of .

Cases are growing fastest in the under-50s, increasing by 23 per cent since the early 1990s.

But, bowel cancer cases have risen by a staggering 50 per cent in 25 to 49-year-olds in 25 years.

Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said: “Although the disease is more common in over-50s, there is a growing body of evidence globally and here in the UK that bowel cancer is increasing in younger people.

“We don’t know the exact reasons why, but scientists believe it may be due to genetics and lifestyle factors.”

Among those whose life was cut short by the disease was Sun columnist Dame .

The mum-of-two died aged 40 in June 2022, five-and-a-half years after being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer at just 35.

It took six months for GPs to take her symptoms seriously, only doing so when the fierceless campaigner presented them photos of blood in her poo, which had been blamed on stress, IBS and haemorrhoids.

is all too familiar. Bowel cancer is often mistaken for other, less serious conditions like constipation or IBS.

Bronwyn Tagg, 27, was told she had after she noticed bleeding when going to the toilet shortly after giving birth to her son, Austin, now two.

She refused to accept it was “part of being a new mum”, but it took 18 months to get a diagnosis last May.

Now in remission, but not free of fear, she tells Sun Health: “I plan on making some incredible memories with my children over the next few years.”

I didn’t think for a minute that by the end of the month I would be diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer

Anita Mellanby

When Anita finally sat down with her GP in August 2024, she was still convinced her body was simply reacting to her hectic schedule.

She says: “I was tired, but I am going through the , and I had started a new job I wasn’t enjoying, which was causing me stress.

“I didn’t have you typically associate with bowel cancer, no blood when I went to the toilet, or discomfort.

“I only went to the GP in the first place because I had this strange sensation in my back, which I thought might be stress-related.”

Anita had blood tests, a FIT test, and then was booked in for a colonoscopy.

“I’ll never forget the moment I saw the tumour on the screen,” she says.

“The team told me that they would talk to me about it after the procedure, but I knew, and the endoscopist confirmed it.

“It was a huge shock because overall, I was feeling okay. And as there were no symptoms, it almost felt unreal, like it wasn’t really happening.

“The first thing you think is, how bad is this? And they can’t tell you straight away.”

Anita had a 3cm tumour, 20cm of bowel, and 20 lymph nodes removed in a four-hour operation, before having three rounds of chemotherapy (above during her first round) Credit: Supplied Sun columnist Dame Deborah James’ life was cut short by the deadly cancer Credit: Dan Williams – Commissioned by The Sun

Aggressive tumour

In fact, Anita had stage three bowel cancer.

She had a 3cm tumour, 20cm of bowel, and 20 lymph nodes removed in a four-hour operation, then three rounds of chemotherapy.

“They call it ‘mopping up’ chemo and I knew it was the best thing I could do,” says Anita.

“But if I am honest, I was more scared of this than the surgery. You are having poison pumped into your body, and the side effects were horrific at times.

“I didn’t lose my hair, but my fingers and toes became extremely sensitive to the cold.

“When I opened the fridge, the blast of cold air made me feel like I couldn’t breathe. And I struggled to speak. I sounded drunk and felt unstable. It was awful.”

Anita tested positive for , an inherited genetic condition that increases the risk of certain cancers.

I only went to the GP in the first place because I had this strange sensation in my back, which I thought might be stress-related

Anita Mellanby

Around one in 125 people have Lynch syndrome, and it’s linked to around 30 per cent of bowel cancer cases.

“I had never heard of it before,” says Anita, who has since found out she inherited the gene from her late mum.

She says: “My two daughters, who are in their mid-twenties, have also been tested.

“One of them has it, which was a huge shock, but she won’t need to start screening until they’re 30.

“They are very positive and just get on with their lives, and they know I am always here if they want to talk.”

Anita has chosen to have a hysterectomy as a preventive measure against , also linked with Lynch syndrome.

She’ll have regular cancer monitoring for the next five years, but for now, she is fit and healthy.

“I don’t think I’ve ever actually been told I am ‘all clear’, or I am cancer-free, but the doctors, who have all been incredible, are pleased with my progress,” Anita says, who started a new role as a client coordinator for ProblemShared, an online platform.

“And I got married on May 31. We had a beautiful , so I feel extremely blessed.

“I’ll always remember my surgeon telling me after the operation that I was extremely lucky. The tumour was aggressive and if it had been a few months later, we might have been having a very different conversation, potentially about palliative care.

You have to catch cancer before it catches you

Anita Mellanby

“The sooner you are diagnosed with cancer, the easier it is to treat.

“Don’t be embarrassed. If you have any concerns about how you are feeling, get checked out and don’t be palmed off.

“That initial back sensation was never diagnosed. I’m sure it was stress-related, but it saved my life. You have to catch cancer before it catches you.”

Complete blur

Mum-of-two Bronwyn, who lives in with her husband Glen, 27, was certain something was wrong and fought to be heard by doctors for over a year.

After noticing blood in the toilet, she says: “They didn’t examine me but said it was most probably piles after having a vaginal birth.

“I feel like if the doctor had taken the time, then I would have been diagnosed earlier. I’m angry but I can’t dwell on it.”

In early 2024, Bronwyn began suffering diarrhoea and “pretty horrendous tummy aches”.

A year later, in February 2025, a gynaecologist thought she might have and ordered an MRI scan.

This found a polyp in her rectum, an abnormal growth – common and usually harmless, but sometimes cancerous.

Surgeons removed it via colonoscopy in May 2025 and two weeks later, Brownyn, who is also mum to Josie, five, got a phone call while doing her food shop.

I feel like if the doctor had taken the time, then I would have been diagnosed earlier. I’m angry but I can’t dwell on it

Bronwyn Tagg

“They asked me to come in the following day for my results and to bring someone for support – I instantly knew it was bad news,” the dental nurse says.

“I felt so numb, my 18-month-old sat in the trolley, I was just thinking ‘What am I going to do?’.

“We were called into the room and it was really quiet and sombre. The consultant said, ‘I’m really sorry to have to tell you that the polyp we removed was cancer’.

Bronwyn Tagg, 27, receives cancer treatment after her symptoms were dismissed as piles Credit: Jam Press Bronwyn has completed chemotherapy and is awaiting results from a recent scan to determine whether she is in remission Credit: Jam Press

“The rest of the appointment is a complete blur, I didn’t take anything in. My husband was next to me in tears, but I just felt nothing.”

She opted to have surgery to remove part of her rectum, which required the fitting of a stoma bag to collect her waste in a pouch attached to her body.

Six weeks later, Browyn got yet more devastating news, her cancer was stage 3 and she would need chemotherapy.

Bronwyn says: “When I started chemotherapy, I explained to [Josie] that I was going to have some very important at the hospital.

“I said that it would make me tired and feel a bit sick. But I explained it was important for me to have it so that the bad stuff in mummy’s tummy hopefully doesn’t come back.

“I only recently told her that I had cancer. I really wanted to protect her to begin with, but really, it’s about being open and honest with your children.

“She asked me if I was going to die and Glen found that quite tricky.”

Bronwyn has now completed chemotherapy and is awaiting results from a recent scan to determine whether she is in remission.

The best thing you can do to spot bowel cancer is to know your “normal”, so if something feels persistently different with your bowels, you’ll know to see your GP.

While the FIT test is sent to all 50 to 74-year-olds, don’t wait for the letter to hit your doormat.

Bronwyn says: “For anyone noticing any symptoms, I would say go and get them checked with the GP.

“If they are disregarded because of their age, they need to persist. Early diagnosis saves lives.”