Aisling Gallagher

A young woman was working her dream job when a sudden dash to the toilet changed her life forever. 💔

Aisling Gallagher thought she was just adjusting to her new life in London.

She had just landed her dream job as a personal shopper for Topshop and considered herself super healthy.

But she soon found herself rushing to the toilet with intense urgency and began passing blood with her stool. ❗

She tried to put the bloating and symptoms down to her new surroundings.

When she finally got a doctor's appointment in March 2020, the country went into lockdown just two days later.

Her tests were postponed for months while she lost a stone in weight and her health quickly deteriorated.

By the time she finally had a colonoscopy, doctors discovered a tumour in her rectum. 😢

It was stage two rectal cancer, and it had already spread to 11 of her lymph nodes.

The treatment plan required radiation therapy, a temporary stoma, and chemotherapy.

Aisling was warned the treatment would leave her infertile, and she is now going through the menopause. 💔

She said: "The infertility was the biggest heartbreak to get over. I went to see a specialist at the time, but it wasn't possible for me to freeze any eggs before the treatment started.

"I was devastated and honestly still am – it's the hardest thing to navigate. Whether you want to have a child or not, having your choice taken away is cruel." 😢

Fortunately, the treatment proved successful, and that November Aisling received the all-clear, undergoing the stoma reversal surgery the following month.

Yet despite remaining cancer-free, a year on Aisling suffered a debilitating bowel obstruction. She said: "It was the most horrific experience. I was buckled in two in pain, and suffered severe vomiting."

At A&E, doctors discovered she had developed adhesions – scar tissue – across both her small and large bowel. 

She was informed she would have to manage the condition long-term, as further surgery risked causing additional complications.

Aisling said: "The episodes are really scary – they come on quickly, and it could happen anywhere. It hasn't stopped me trying to live my life as normally as I possibly can but I have had to miss work, trips and many things due to being ill." 💔