A 23-year-old woman was diagnosed with stage four cancer after her surgery was put on hold due to coronavirus.
Amelia Grace first went to the doctors with her partner Jay Potter, 26, in January 2020, to undergo fertility checks in the hope of starting a family together.
Amelia, from Norris Green, underwent a series of scans and the results found fluid on her fallopian tubes which she was told she needed keyhole surgery to remove at Liverpool Women's Hospital.
However, the surgery was put on hold at the start of the national lockdown in March and Amelia was told she would have to wait three months for an appointment.
During this time the 23-year-old started experiencing severe stomach pains and went to see her GP.
She was referred to Broadgreen Hospital for a scan and the results found she had cysts on her ovaries including endometrial cysts.
But it wasn't until she had keyhole surgery on December 2 that doctors discovered she had cancer after taking a biopsy.
On December 23 at Aintree Hospital, Amelia was told the devastating news that she had stage four bowel cancer which has also spread to her liver.
Amelia told the ECHO: "It's treatable but it's not curable.
"They said they can't do surgery at the moment because the tumour is too big and they were going to start me on chemo as soon as [possible]."
Amelia has shared her story raise awareness of cancer in young people and encourage others to go to the doctor if they are worried about any signs or symptoms.
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Amelia is currently undergoing 12 rounds of chemotherapy at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. She will undergo a CT scan after six sessions to see if the tumour has reduced in size.
After her first round of chemotherapy in January, Amelia fell ill and was rushed into emergency surgery where she had a stoma bag fitted.
She said: "I don't think people realise what people can go through. I never imagined me getting bowel cancer at 23.
"The amount of people I've had messaging me since I put my story on Facebook asking about symptoms they've had.
"You don't realise how many young girls are going through stuff, I think a lot of us just put it down to girl problems."
Amelia added: "I've just got to remember there are other people worse off in the world than me.
"I've got a good family and boyfriend and a good support system around me. You can't let yourself get down, you've got to stay positive."
Jay said: "Cancer can affect anyone, it doesn't discriminate.
"This is not the situation you want to be finding yourself in at the age of 23 - you don't want to be going through stage four cancer.
"If you feel something is really wrong do not take no for an answer, keep pushing."
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