A florist who overcame terminal cancer says she feels "really lucky to still be here".
Jenny Sumner, 34, from Boughton, Cheshire, was in shock when she found out she had bowel cancer.
She discovered the disease had spread to her lymph nodes and was told it was terminal, CheshireLive reports.
But Jenny refused to give in and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, before being given the all-clear.
She was diagnosed in October 2020 after contacting her GP with symptoms which were initially dismissed as irritable bowel syndrome.
This went on for two months, but Jenny knew something was seriously wrong and so she persisted in asking medics to check on her symptoms, which included excruciating pain.
She ended up in A&E with the pain and this led to a scan which revealed a tumour.
Further investigations showed that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and she was given the devastating news that it was terminal.
Jenny started chemotherapy and radiotherapy in November 2020 before being given the news that her body was clear of cancer.
Now she has spoken out about wanting to raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms so anyone in her position can get the treatment they need as quickly as possible.
Jenny said her symptoms included stomach cramps, feeling tired, weight loss and having blood in her poo.
She also had what she thought were piles but this turned out to be the cancer.
And she had some words of advice for anyone worried about symptoms, saying: "Do not hesitate to go to the doctor, no matter how embarrassed you are. I pushed as hard as I could."
She said that to add to her cancer ordeal her fiancé broke off their engagement a week before she was due to start chemotherapy, but she was eternally grateful to her family and friends for rallying around to support her.
She has gone on to have her eggs frozen, giving her the option of having children in future as she cannot now carry children due to the radiotherapy.
Jenny has set up an Instagram account to share her experiences of living with cancer, helping others by doing so by encouraging them to get any symptoms checked, for example.
She said: "I was 32 when I was diagnosed in 2020 and I was fit and active and young and healthy.
"When I set up my Instagram account people were getting in touch with symptoms and I said make sure you go to the doctor's and make sure you don't hang around because I was misdiagnosed for two months.
"I went to the GP in July 2020 with symptoms including 'ribbon' stools and the same kind of symptoms that Bowel Babe - Dame Deborah James - had.
"They thought it was irritable bowel syndrome and this was during the Covid pandemic so they were trying to avoid me going in.
"I was advised to try things like changing my diet. They didn't realise that I had a 10cm cancerous tumour. I was phoning them all the time for over two months.
"I couldn't even go out for dinner because I was in excruciating pain. It was horrific.
Get all the latest news sent to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror newsletter
"I ended up going to A&E because they just weren't helping me and they sent me to have an MRI scan and that's where they found out it was cancer.
"I was in shock - major shock - when they told me. I went through all the treatment and managed to get rid of it.
"It was last July when I actually got the all clear. I was responding really well to treatment and I am really lucky to still be here. It's been a rollercoaster."
Jenny, who runs Jenny's Flowers in Boughton, now has six month check ups to monitor her and is happy to be getting back into her love of fitness, doing regular runs as part of a 100 mile charity challenge for Cancer Research.
She said she was incredibly grateful for the support from family and friends and her colleague at her floristry business who had kept the business running while she was undergoing treatment.
She said she now wanted to give back by doing a 100-mile running challenge to raise money for Cancer Research as a way of thanking the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Countess of Chester Hospital where she had been treated and where her mum Jacky Sumner had also been successfully treated for breast cancer over 14 years ago.
She said: "I'd like to thank my family and friends for being amazing. I've got a really good group of friends and they and my family have really helped me through this.
"I quite like doing fundraising and my mum had treatment at Clatterbridge.
"It just feels nice to give back and I am enjoying getting myself back into running and doing the running challenge.
"I used to be so active before. I'm getting quicker as the months are going on and I feel a lot better in myself."
For more information on Jenny's 100 miles Cancer Research challenge, visit her fundraising page here or her Instagram page here.
