'I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer at 34 after ignoring an embarrassing symptom'

A mum initially noticed that her gas was suddenly far more foul-smelling than usual - but she attributed it to her probiotics. Now, she's speaking out to make sure others don't ignore their telling symptoms.

However, when Jelena Tompkins, from Colorado, US, finally saw doctors about her problem, she was shocked to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Thompkins was 34 in 2016 when she noticed her gas smelled worse than usual. But she was quite healthy. The mum-of-one just ran a half marathon and maintained a healthy diet, so she assumed the gas was due to the veggies in her diet.

Ms Tompkins began taking probiotics to balance her gut bacteria, but the smell didn't improve. She didn't think anything of it until she noticed blood in her stool.

READ MORE:The cheapest Taylor Swift resale tickets available to buy right now

She revealed her doctor didn't think anything was seriously wrong at her annual check-up a few months later. They guessed the bleeding was due to dietary changes.

However, three months later, doctors began doing tests to determine if it was a certain food upsetting her digestive system.

Jelena was diagnosed with colorectal cancer

Eventually, they recommended a colonoscopy, which devastatingly revealed that the stage three rectal cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. "I was in some of the best shape of my life," Ms Tompkins told The Patient Story. "I ate healthily and never thought that cancer would strike me at such a young age."

Jelena had been in 'some of the best shape' of her life, she said, when the cancer struck

She explained that she underwent a gruelling 28 days of radiation therapy. She took the chemotherapy pill Xeloda, designed for late-stage colorectal cancer. After a two-month rest period, her tumour began to shrink. But doctors still recommended surgery.

Surgeons removed 12 inches of her colon and rectum and 17 lymph nodes, leaving five cancerous nodes remaining. Tompkins then had an ileostomy - a procedure where a hole is made in the abdomen, and a piece of the ileum, the lowest part of the small intestine, outside of the abdominal wall, is brought out through the hole to create a stoma.

This allows food to pass through the stoma into an external pouch instead of through the rectum. Six weeks post-surgery, she started on the combination chemotherapy FOLFOX, finishing in May 2017, just in time to participate in a local race.

Jelena underwent radiation treatment for a gruelling 28 days

Tompkins reports that she is in remission and undergoing maintenance chemotherapy and annual scans, and she's thrilled with her progress. But it wasn't an easy journey.

She had no family history of cancer, so turned to online patient communities for support.

"We could vent to each other when we were really tired or ask, 'Hey, is this bothering your system?' Or, 'Oh my gosh, is your ileostomy going crazy too? What can you do to slow this down? What do you drink when you're going through FOLFOX and you've got that cold sensitivity and everything has to be hot?'"

She added: "Those are some of the things you don't necessarily bother your oncologist about, but having a friend there to support you through can help bounce ideas off of you and help you feel like you've got a support group that's there for you and that you can reach out to if you're having a bad day."

For the latest breaking news and top stories, visit our homepage.

Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .