Father-of-four diagnosed with bowel cancer months after doctors dismissed his ... trends now
A 'healthy and fit' father-of-four is battling bowel cancer after bungling doctors dismissed his stomach pain as an iron deficiency.
Matt Jones, from High Halden in Kent, visited his GP in May after he began suffering from extreme cramping, diarrhoea and nausea. But the 38-year-old's doctor dismissed his symptoms as anaemia.
The self-employed painter and decorator was rushed to hospital later that month after he collapsed at home due to the pain, where hospital medics said he should undergo urgent tests.
But further delays meant he was only diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer six weeks later — during which time his wife gave birth to twins.
Mr Jones, who has lost four stone in a matter of months, has since undergone surgery to remove the tumour and is set to start chemotherapy.
Matt Jones, from High Halden in Kent, visited his GP in May after he began suffering from extreme cramping, diarrhoea and nausea. But the 38-year-old's doctor dismissed his symptoms as anaemia
The self-employed painter and decorator was rushed to hospital later that month after he collapsed at home due to the pain, where hospital medics said he should undergo urgent tests
Mr Jones booked an appointment with his local surgery in May when he began suffering extreme cramping, diarrhoea and nausea.
After taking a blood test, doctors told Mr Jones he was suffering only with anaemia.
His wife Nicki, 37, who was pregnant with twins at the time, cared for him in the following days and weeks, during which he became so unwell that he was unable to eat.
But Mr Jones collapsed with extreme stomach pains at his home later that month.
When Mrs Jones phoned 999, she was told it would be a 10-hour wait for the next available ambulance as the service was 'very busy. A call handler advised her to call a taxi to take him to William Harvey Hospital, which was 14 miles away in Ashford.
Bowel cancer can cause you to have blood in your poo, a change in bowel habit, a lump inside your bowel which can cause an obstructions. Some people also suffer with weight loss a s a result of these symptoms
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He was eventually driven to the hospital by a neighbour, but spent 21 hours waiting in a corridor as the excruciating pain intensified further.
When he was finally admitted to a hospital ward, a consultant told staff to give him an urgent colonoscopy — a test to check inside the bowels.
But the procedure was not carried out for a further four weeks.
As a result, it was not until July 6 — six weeks after he was first admitted to hospital — that Mr Jones was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer.
Around 43,000 Brits and 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with the cancer each year. Passing blood in stool, changes in bowel habits and tummy pain are the three main symptoms of the disease.
A combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are usually required to treat bowel
