A mum who was told her sickness was irritable bowel syndrome has since found out a tumour had been growing on her bowel for up to ten years.
Andrea Askoy, from Rhyl in North Wales has spoken about her ordeal after she was given a devastating diagnosis of stage four bowel cancer in January last year.
The mum-of-three started to experience symptoms in October of 2020 when she suffered with unexplained sickness and diarrhoea, North Wales Live reports.
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She was told it was irritable bowel syndrome until further tests revealed something more sinister.
Ms Askoy was later told she had a large tumour in her bowel that measured over nine centimetres and could have been growing for up to 10 years.
She was given the devastating news alone in hospital due to the then- covid restrictions.
The mum of two teenage boys and a 10-year-old daughter said: "I remember sitting in that hospital room on my own due to covid restrictions and receiving the news that I had cancer.
"The doctor kept asking me if I had any questions, but my mind was trying to process what he had just said whilst thinking: 'Was I going to die?'
"What about my children and my mum? But I just couldn't get the words out. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do telling my children, family and friends the news.
"Everyone was amazing and rallied around the best they could in the middle of another lockdown during a worldwide pandemic."
Ms Askoy, who is a carer, began chemotherapy on March 8 last year but was "so poorly" and things took a turn for the worse.
She said: ""I was throwing up my own faeces because my bowel was completely blocked," she said.
"I remember lying on the kitchen floor feeling incredibly ill, thinking I was going to die.
"I was told to immediately go to A&E and a scan showed the tumour had in fact grown and was blocking my bowel. As a result, I needed emergency surgery."
On April 13, Ms Askoy had the right side of her bowel removed and the tumour taken out.
The gruelling chemotherapy treatment resumed and on September 20, she was able to leave hospital after completing her cancer treatment.
On October 4, she was given the positive news she was clear of her cancer.
She received more good news this week when she received a call from her bowel consultant to say that, as long as her colonoscopy is clear in April, she won't need another one for another three years.
Ms Askoy added: "I am so happy and thankful to our amazing NHS, Macmillan, the Osborne Trust, Cancer Research and of course my mum, children, friends and family, and everyone that kept me going.
"There were days of me wanting to quit, days I thought I was going to die, but I kept on pushing on and fighting.
"This past year has been tough and it teaches us that life is short, so please tell people that you love them, spend time with others, chase those sunsets, dance in the rain and go and make some amazing memories.
"If you have any changes in your body - lumps, bumps, bleeding, pain, or a change in bowel habits - then please seek medical attention.
"It could save your life as it saved mine, which I will always be thankful and grateful for."
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