Midlands woman, 23, diagnosed with bowel cancer after seeing GP 13 times

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A woman who saw her GP 13 times and was repeatedly told she was too young to have cancer has been diagnosed with the disease. Milli Tanner went to see her doctor after suffering with stomach pains, lower back pain and blood in her stool. Medics said she probably had piles, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or period problems. They even suggested she had 'too much to drink' after a night out and was working long shifts. But the 23-year-old actually had a potentially deadly tumour and has since been diagnosed with bowel cancer. READ MORE: Moment police storm asylum seeker's hotel room after brutal screwdriver murder Ms Tanner, Evesham, Worcestershire , said: "They said that maybe I’d had a night out, had too much to drink, and that was irritating my stomach. "But the bleeding carried on, as well as the abdominal pain … it was continuous. "There were discussions at the GP, such as: could it be my periods? Could it be this, could it be that? "And I said "no, usually with a period, it’s maybe you have a week every month with a bit of abdominal pain, and you obviously bleed, and that’s that, but you don’t tend to lose blood through your back passage". "I continued going to the GP. They referred me for an ultrasound to check for gallstones but it wasn’t that, I had a session with a physiotherapist for the back pain and they said that they couldn’t see anything wrong at all. "And then it was pretty much just put down to piles. "By this point, I was tired as well all the time, and I was working full-time in a pub. "They looked at that as "that’s probably why you’re tired, you’re working long shifts and late nights". She added: "I was also showing pictures of the amount of blood I was having – every time I went to the toilet I was bleeding. "I said "it’s not a little bit of blood on the tissue, this is clots of blood and filling the toilet bowl up"." Ms Tanner was 19 when she first went to her GP with in June 2021. Between June 2021 to November 2023, she had 13 appointments with a GP, went to A&E and had a phone call with NHS 111. At one point, during a visit to A&E, Ms Tanner was told to go back to her GP. She said: "I asked for a second opinion. The doctor come back into the room, said "right, I’ve just spoken to another A&E department. You’re just too young. Are you happy?"." Ms Tanner eventually ordered herself a faecal immunochemical test (FIT), which looks for tiny traces of blood in the stool that could indicate bowel cancer. The test was positive - and Ms Tanner took her results to her GP. But it was months before the GP ordered a FIT test on the NHS. Ms Tanner said: "The GP did put through a referral for a colonoscopy but I had a phone call to say it was a 60-week wait. "They were following the NHS guidelines, and because I was under a certain age, it apparently couldn’t be put through as urgent until they did their own FIT test. "Once the GP had ordered their own FIT test and it was positive, they were able to put it through as urgent." By this point, Ms Tanner said she knew she had bowel cancer. She added: "I knew it was going to be bowel cancer. I knew deep down exactly what it was. "I’d done my own research. It was frustrating. I felt like I was going crazy." Ms Tanner, who works as a cleaner, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in November 2023 following the urgent colonoscopy. She said: "I saw the mass straight away. I saw it on the screen and I just said "what’s that?". "And the doctor said "it’s a tumour". I said "is it cancer?" and she said "I’m really sorry"." By this point, the cancer had spread to Ms Tanner’s lymph nodes and was stage three. She decided to have her eggs collected owing to the risk cancer treatment will make her infertile. Ms Tanner also had chemotherapy and radiotherapy, surgery, while she has also been fitted with a permanent stoma. She has been left perimenopausal but her most recent CT scan and colonoscopy showed no signs of cancer. Ms Tanner now wants to raise awareness of cancer among young people. She said: "It was such a massive issue and stress getting diagnosed. "I had at least 20 health appointments, including 13 GP appointments and a visit to A&E where I was told I was too young to have cancer. "I had always been maternal, so it was heartbreaking to learn I might be infertile. "I’d say to people: you know your own body better than anybody else does. "If it feels wrong, then keep going back until you find what is wrong." Amy Harding, director of services and impact at the Teenage Cancer Trust, said: "Milli’s story, although extreme, is sadly not unique. "We know from recent evidence and through the young people that we support, that far too often the path to a cancer diagnosis is challenging, traumatic and too long for young people who face delays to diagnosis. "The National Cancer Plan for England has the potential to create the vital changes needed for young people with cancer. "However, it must include strong and targeted measures, including empowering primary care professionals to spot the signs of cancer in young people. "Although cancer is rare in this group, it shouldn’t be off the table just because of patient age." According to Cancer Research UK, bowel cancer rates in teenagers and young people up to the age of 24 have increased by 74 per cent since the early 1990s. The Department of Health was contacted for comment. Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here .