Watch: 'Britain's longest surviving bowel cancer patient' describes the importance of early diagnosisbowel cancerBex Papa-Adams, 45 from Hempstead, Kent, was diagnosed with stage four cancer at the age of 29 and told by doctors she had around a year to live.
"It took 18 months to diagnose me, yet I had symptoms like blood in my stools," she continues."They said I was too young when I asked if it could be cancer. They said I was paranoid and it could be piles." Previously fit and healthy, she says of how quickly her health deteriorated:"I couldn't even go out in the garden without having an accident."Bex Papa-Adams and two of her children, Phodi and Claire, after her most recent surgery.
She also describes her husband, Theo, as being"a pillar of strength" in supporting her through her cancer journey.