A “FIT and healthy” mum-of-two has told how she dismissed a key sign of terminal cancer as holiday bloating.
Cecilia Capolupo, who is originally from Argentina but now lives in Clapham, London, noticed she was bloated after returning from a family trip to Devon in August.
But the 46-year-old believed it was due to the Cornish pasties and fish and chips she devoured on holiday.
It was only after she began suffering stomach cramps and saw “tiny bit” of blood in her stools that she visited her GP who referred her for a colonoscopy at Lister Hospital – when a flexible camera is inserted to obtain images of the bowel.
Doctors discovered she had an eight-centimetre tumour and was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, meaning it had spread to other parts of her body — specifically her abdominal wall, liver and lungs.
Since her diagnosis in September, she has undergone four rounds of chemotherapy and at-home treatment to prevent the tumour from growing.
READ MORE ON BOWEL CANCER
Recalling her heartbreaking diagnosis, Cecilia said she always “felt so healthy and never thought about having stomach checks.
“I came back bloated from holiday, then had stomach cramps and went to get checked out.
“Then I went to a routine colonoscopy and they gave me a death sentence on the same day.”
She added that she “knew it was bad news” when her husband Mark, 45, was called in from the waiting room to listen to medics.
“It was a massive shock. The consultant called me and said it was incurable.
“He said you have it everywhere – all my abdominal wall, liver and lungs.
“I thought ‘how can it be my lungs? I do bike class, I go dancing with my friends until 2 o’clock in the morning’.”
She said: “I had a panic attack which I’ve never had in my life. I woke up at two o’clock (in the morning) crying.
“I don’t wish this for anybody. On the weekends, I call my friends and family to tell them I’m dying and say goodbye.”
There are around 44,000 cases of bowel cancer every year in the UK and 142,000 in the US, making it the fourth most common cancer in both countries.
But cases are rising in young people, an alarming trend that experts have linked to modern diets, chemical exposure and lifestyles.
Research shows those born in 1990 are nearly two-and-a-half times more likely to get bowel cancer than someone born in 1950.
Sun Columnist Dame Deborah James was diagnosed in 2016 at the age of just 35, after initially being told her symptoms were likely due to IBS or stress.
The podcaster and campaigner, who used her social media profile ‘Bowel Babe’ to spread awareness of the disease, died aged just 40, in 2022.
Symptoms often include changes in bowel movements such as consistent and new diarrhoea or constipation, needing or feeling the need to poo more or less frequently and blood in the stool.
Stomach pain, a lump in the stomach, bloating, unexpected weight-loss and fatigue are among other signs.
Anyone experiencing these symptoms should contact their GP for advice.
Cecilia said that after four rounds of chemo, she now feels “like a 90-year-old lady” with the “worst hangover of all time”.
She added: “I’m not planning to die any time soon. The doctors told me I probably have two years.
“In five years with stage-four cancer, there is a 13 per cent survival rate. I’m going for it and more if I can.
“I’m planning on going back to work. I have to get on with my life. I’ve started going back to my Pilates class.”
Currently adults aged 50 to 74 in England are offered a free at-home bowel cancer test every two years.
But with more than 2,600 people diagnosed each year before they reach screening age, experts have called for better earlier detection of the disease.
Cecilia said: “I rushed when I had my first symptom and it was too late.
“If I had had the check at 45, I’d be in a much better situation.”
