Scots student lived with stage four cancer for three years after mistaking it for anaemia

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A student has told of her shock after being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer after mistaking the symptoms for anaemia. Laila Hudson, from Glasgow, first realised something was wrong when she began having stomach and bowel problems in the summer of 2017.Doctors initially diagnosed her with anaemia after suffering from distended and bloated stomach, spasm-like pain, a loss of appetite, a constant need to pee and stabbing pain in her bladder when she went to the toilet.

Over the next three years, she was prescribed iron tablets as medics suspected that it was a re-occurrance of the blood disorder.The 29-year-old's condition only worsened as the most glaring symptoms of the cancer became more apparent in April 2020.

Laila told Glasgow Live: "My symptoms started in the summer of 2017 when I was diagnosed with anaemia. Over the next three years, I would need multiple courses of iron tablets for recurrent anaemia."I had zero awareness of bowel cancer symptoms at this point in my life so I never questioned why I had such persistent anaemia.

My more glaring symptoms started in April 2020. My stomach was extremely distended and bloated constantly – I felt like I had a bowling ball in my stomach."Laila was prescribed irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) medication alongside antibiotics over the phone, as doctors were reluctant to do a physical examination on her due to Covid.