It’s easy to brush off little changes in your body. Feeling extra tired, dealing with stomach aches, or just not feeling yourself often seems harmless. But for one young woman, those small signs turned out to be something life-changing.
At only 24 years old, Paige Seifert was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer after months of ignoring symptoms that she thought were minor. She’s now sharing her story on TikTok to urge others to pay attention when something doesn’t feel right.
Paige said she had three main symptoms that eventually pushed her to keep going back to the doctor. The first was exhaustion that never seemed to lift. “I know this can be chalked up to a bunch of different things, whether it’s work, lack of sleep, or exercise, but this, combined with all the rest, was a big indicator for me,” she explained.
The second symptom was stomach problems that would come and go. “For me, it was super sporadic,” Paige said. “I didn’t have it all the time, but when I did, it just felt like something was off. Whether it was nausea or stomach pains and stomach cramping.”
The third, and the one she said people should never ignore, was blood in her stool. “Blood in your stool is a huge one and is obviously going to tip you off that something is wrong,” she shared. “But I know it can be written off as a bunch of other things, like haemorrhoids, and that’s what I wrote it off as”.
“That’s what the three doctors I first saw wrote it off as. But this, along with the other things I was experiencing, was a definite indicator that something was wrong. Hence why I kept going to the doctor and pushing for more diagnostic testing.”
Her persistence is what finally led to the correct diagnosis. Paige says she wants people to trust their instincts and keep pushing for answers if they feel something isn’t right, reported GB News.
The NHS explains that bowel cancer, which includes colon and rectal cancer, is one of the most common cancers in the UK. Warning signs to watch out for include noticeable changes in bathroom habits, such as softer stools, ongoing diarrhoea or constipation, or needing to go more or less often than usual.
Blood in your stool, which may appear red or black, is another key symptom. Other signs can include bleeding from your bottom, constant urges to use the toilet even after going, stomach pain, bloating, or a lump in your abdomen. Unexplained weight loss, extreme tiredness, and even breathlessness can also be red flags.
The NHS recommends seeing a doctor if you’ve had blood in your stool for three weeks or longer, or if you’re dealing with significant or persistent pain.
Paige’s story is a reminder that listening to your body can save your life. What seems like something small can sometimes mean something serious, and as she put it, the best thing you can do is keep pushing until you get the answers you need.