A mum who was diagnosed with bowel cancer despite being told that nothing was wrong has appealed to young people to be aware of symptoms. 

Kirsty Fielding, 31, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer last September after more than two years of displaying symptoms. 

The mum from Locks Heath developed a bleed in July 2022 but subsequent tests showed no signs of cancer. 

A year later, having given birth to her son Lucas in April 2023, she suffered intense pain and the bleeding became more frequent. 

This was initially put down to post-natal effects by a GP but after a year of symptoms in September 2023 she was finally diagnosed. 

Kirsty Fielding and baby LucasKirsty Fielding and baby Lucas (Image: Provided)

“I was really angry. I felt like they could’ve done more.

"In one of the later appointments, I was saying I don’t understand why it’s getting worse and not getting better.

"They pulled me into a room and told me that they had found what they didn’t want to find.

“It was horrendous I was on the floor just crying.”

Despite not blaming the doctors, she has said she feels like there were missed chances to find the tumour in time.

At one point she was forced to call 111 and was given an out-of-hours appointment in Gosport. 

Kirsty FieldingKirsty Fielding (Image: Provided) READ MORE: Mum gives birth after undergoing chemotherapy while in coma

She also sought help from her GP, at which point she was told he was “99 per cent sure it wasn’t cancer as I was fit and healthy”.

Kirsty only received the diagnosis of cancer, which had spread to her liver, after undergoing a CT scan at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

She underwent six sessions of chemotherapy over 12 weeks, followed by surgery in February this year and though she is not yet in remission, she is awaiting the final tests and says the future is looking hopeful.

She has now spoken out in the hope that young people will be more aware of symptoms in future.

The mum said: “I just want to raise awareness because I feel I tried really hard to look after myself and I still got it.

"I am lucky because the tumour spread to my liver, had it spread to my lungs, it could have been a different story."

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Careboard said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases, and we would urge Kirsty, and anyone else who has concerns over the care they have received to contact our Patient Experience team so that we can investigate the matter.

“We take cancer symptoms very seriously and we would urge anyone who has symptoms of bowel cancer, such as rectal bleeding and weight loss to contact their GP as soon as possible.”