A mum who was diagnosed with stage three cancer after mistaking some of her symptoms as stress and IBS has decided to share her story in the hope of helping others.
Mum Bri Mahon has become an inspiration to her followers in more ways than one as she regularly shares insights not only to her general life as a mum, but as a mum to twins who spent weeks in the NICU after being born at 23 weeks.
She shares advice on parenting and has also been candid about her fertility, posting updates as she undergoes IVF treatment.
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Alongside all of that, Bri is battling stage 3 colorectal cancer.
In a video shared earlier this year, Bri decided to speak out about her symptoms as she'd initially shrugged them off as nothing serious.
Bri explained that for years she'd struggled with gut issues and bloating which she attributed to IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). She did allergy tests and blood tests at the time, but they didn't show anything out of the ordinary.
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About two years ago, she noticed an increase in her anxiety and fatigue which caused her to have panic attacks.
In hindsight, she explained: "I think it's just because my body was really, really, really tired and going through whatever it's going through, growing a tumour."
Shortly after she gave birth Bri began to notice blood in her poo, but she thought it was a combination of hemorrhoids from pregnancy and her IBS.
"I wasn't even really thinking about what I was really going through. I thought it was stress. I thought it was depression. I thought it was anxiety, kind of all these things coming up again. My fatigue was really bad, but, again, I justified it in my head as 'my boys are in the NICU, I am insanely stressed out'."
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She only became more concerned when the blood became more regular, and when it turned from red to dark red.
"My urgency to go to the bathroom was kind of out of control. I would either be insanely constipated or I'd be going to the bathroom and just dark blood would be coming out," she recalled. "Definitely a sign that something was wrong."
Bri went to the doctor and was referred her to a gastroenterologist, who scheduled a colonoscopy. After conducting 10 biopsies, the specialist diagnosed 31-year-old Bri with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
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Following her diagnosis, Bri told BuzzFeed News she will undergo two rounds of chemotherapy and radiation before having surgery to remove the remaining part of the tumor.
She and her husband have also decided to undergo IVF and freeze embryos because Bri's treatment plan will affect her fertility.
On her decision to share her story, Bri said: "I hope that one person sees this, gets a colonoscopy, or goes to the doctor for something they've been putting off and it saves them."
Bri's treatment process is set to take six to nine months.
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If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week
Emily Brown