Niamh Shackleton
A woman who was diagnosed with bowel cancer at 26 after a tumour obstructed her colon and left her unable to eat, vomiting for three hours after mealtimes, and in severe pain said the experience made her realise 'how fragile life is' and works to raise awareness that 'this can be happening to young people'.
Charlotte Rutherford, now 32, was living in Australia in 2020 when she was admitted into hospital with severe stomach pain, vomiting and complete loss of appetite.
She had been experiencing symptoms intermittently for around 18 months, but it wasn’t until she was in an 'emergency state' that a CT scan revealed she had Stage 3B bowel cancer, with the tumour obstructing her colon and having spread to her lymph nodes.
"I was told that when I went into hospital the first time in 2020 that I was maybe 48 hours away from my heart just giving up," Charlotte told PA Real Life.
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"You realise that, really, things can change so quickly – so don’t sweat the small stuff – live life how you want to live."
Charlotte, who is a community manager for cancer charity Mission Remission and lives in Bristol, UK, had been living in Australia for around three years when, in December 2020, she was rushed into hospital as severe but intermittent symptoms including stomach pain and vomiting became constant.
She was unable to eat, having three-hour vomiting episodes after mealtimes and losing 'a really dramatic amount of weight', and noticed a change in bowel habits, symptoms she’d been experiencing on-and-off for around 18 months.
"At the time I went into hospital, I was so constipated," Charlotte said. "But all I can remember is the severe nausea, because, essentially, I was so blocked up and had been for a long time, it was kind of poisoning me."
When Charlotte was admitted into hospital, she was given a CT scan which revealed an obstruction in her bowel that required urgent surgery.
Upon seeing the CT scan, the doctors asked if Charlotte had a history of bowel cancer in her family.
"I said: 'I don’t have cancer, do I?' And they were like: 'We don’t know yet, but we’ll find out,'" she recalled.
On December 11, 2020 – within 24 hours of arriving at the hospital – Charlotte was in theatre having the obstruction removed for biopsy. On December 17, it was confirmed that she had advanced bowel cancer, and doctors estimated it had been developing for three to five years.
Charlotte was diagnosed with Stage 3B bowel cancer, with the cancer having spread to her lymph nodes.
While the large tumour and the affected lymph nodes had been removed during surgery, she required 12 weeks of preventative chemotherapy administered via drip and oral tablets to ensure there was no cancer remaining.
On 6 April 2021, having completed the four rounds of chemotherapy, Charlotte was told she was in remission.
But, two years later at a check up she was told that her cancer had returned on her lung and that she was stage 4 since it had metastasized away from its original location in the bowel.
Charlotte had the tumour removed and by August 2023 she received the positive news that she was in remission once more.
Now Charlotte wants to raise awareness about her symptoms and has urged people to get checked out if they think something isn't right — young people in particular.
"There isn’t quite that awareness still that this can happen to young people,” Charlotte said. "I think that just raising awareness of the symptoms and making sure people have the confidence to get checked if something doesn’t feel right… To not have that immediate thought of 'you’re too young to have bowel cancer' is important."
"I think my whole perspective on life changed (after cancer)," she added. "I say yes to more things. I make sure that all of the time I have is spent doing things that I actually want to do. I think it shows you how fragile life is."