A mum who “didn’t feel normal” collapsed after work, having a second seizure in just months, and was given a devastating diagnosis.
Michelle Grant developed a seizure at work, and immediately feared the worse - that she might have a brain tumour.
But tests on the 44-year-old, from Runcorn, Cheshire, reassuringly came back all clear, only for her to develop a second seizure months later.
Doctors reassured her it was nothing drastic, and gave her medication to help.
After she developed constipation, they assured her it was a side effect of the treatment, but the mum’s symptoms just kept getting worse.
These included bloody mucus, and having no control of her bowel movements.
Michelle told the Liverpool Echo: "I then started getting this smell in my hands and in my poo and it didn't feel normal. They just kept putting it down to my medication."
One day, as she walked home from work, Michelle soiled herself. At that point, she “knew that was something not normal” and rang her GP asking for a face-to-face appointment.
After all that, and further tests, Michelle finally received the devastating diagnosis that she had stage two bowel cancer.
She said: "The consultant was baffled that it hadn't shown in my iron because bowel cancer usually shows in your iron in your bloods, but it hadn't come up.
"So he said he thought it was [caught] early. I was lucky really but I think if I hadn't of pushed it and pushed it I wouldn't have gotten it so early.
"I wanted to show people that if your body doesn't feel right to [go get checked out]."
Michelle was told the tumour in her bowel was pushing against her fibroids and doctors didn’t know if it had spread to her womb or cervix.
Doctors made the decision, in light of this, for Michelle to have surgery to remove it, and gave her the option to freeze her eggs.
But with a 21-year-old daughter, Michelle said it didn’t hit her “too hard” as she already had a family.
Michelle's womb, cervix, the cancerous tumour and 11 lymph nodes were removed and she was fitted with a temporary stoma which she lived with for a year before she had it reversed in November last year.
Speaking about the stoma, she said: "You're not in control of your bowel but I just embraced it. It's a bit weird getting used to fitted clothes again because I was wearing baggy clothes."
Michelle also became a nan in July 2020 and said she missed out on cuddles with her grandson as she couldn't pick him up, but is now making up for it.
The 44-year-old is now cancer free and said wants to raise awareness of bowel cancer.
She said: "I recently have just had my two-year CT scans and they have come back clear. It's been a whirlwind.
"But I wanted to raise awareness because bowel cancer, if you leave it so late, is one of the biggest killers."
