'I took my bowel screening test two years late - then I was diagnosed with stage four cancer'

A mum diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer after putting off her screening has urged people to take the test as soon as it arrives.

Jane Short, 52, first received her NHS bowel screening kit when she turned 50, but put off completing it as she felt healthy.

By the time she used the kit, after developing stomach symptoms, doctors discovered a tumour in her bowel that had already spread to her liver.

“i had no reason to believe there was anything wrong before that. I’d never had any health implications. it was the furthest thing from my mind.”

Before her diagnosis, the mum-of-two from Anniesland lived a healthy, active lifestyle, attending Pilates three times a week.

But when she began experiencing an upset stomach and spotted blood when she went to the toilet, she completed the FIT test.

Within ten days, she was called to Gartnavel Hospital for further investigation.

Following her colonoscopy, Jane was told by doctors she had a tumour in her bowel.

Jane recalled being “devastated and terrified”.

Bowel Cancer UK

“My daughter, who was with me because I’d had sedation, had been asked to come in when they gave me the results. At that point, you realise something’s wrong.

“Life just comes to an abrupt standstill. I thought, ‘will I be here to see my daughters get married, have families of their own, move out and have their own places?’ It was absolutely heartbreaking.

“I can’t answer why I didn’t do the test. When you get things through the post, you put them up on the shelf and think, ‘I’ll do that.’ You always think you’ll feel unwell, whereas that wasn’t the case for me.”

Further scans later revealed six small tumours on her liver, and she was formally diagnosed with stage four cancer.

Jane said her journey was relatively “seamless” in the months following. After a number of tests and scans, she began chemotherapy in September 2025.

“The chemo was tough but I had a lot of support from nurses at the Beatson,” she said.

The treatment reduced the cancer enough for her to become eligible for liver surgery.

In February this year, Jane underwent major surgery including a right hemicolectomy, liver resection, gallbladder removal and the removal of 13 lymph nodes. 

Pathology has since shown no evidence of cancer in her lymph nodes or gallbladder. She is now recovering well and has regular check-ups to watch for signs of it returning.

“It’s a new normal. I’m trying to navigate everyday life and appreciate the fact I came through treatment and surgery.

“There’s also the fear that it could come back, and that’s something you need to learn to live alongside.”

Jane is backing the NHS campaign urging Scots to send in their FIT tests – with the Glasgow area reporting fewer than two-thirds undertaking the screening.

Only 60% of those in the region are taking the test, compared with 65% across the rest of Scotland.

There were 137,000 people across Greater Glasgow and Clyde who didn’t complete the most recent round of screening.

The area has one of the lowest uptakes in Scotland with people saying they were frightened, forgot, or didn’t have symptoms.

‘We want to screen people before they get symptoms’

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Dr Jack Winter a consultant gastroenterologist at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

“It’s a concern. Screening is important. It can pick up bowel cancer at a very early stage and increase the likelihood of a successful cure, and can possibly prevent you getting cancer. The more people who do it, the more people who benefit.

“We hear time and time again that people are afraid of doing the screening test because they don’t want to open Pandora’s box on a journey they don’t know where it will end, and it can be very frightening.

“They’re worried about being invited for a bowel exam and colonoscopy if the test is positive, and fear that it will be difficult or uncomfortable. We’re getting better at delivering that comfortably.

“In other situations, they think it’s not for them because they don’t have symptoms, but that’s actually who we want to target. The purpose of screening is to pick people up before they have problems.”

Bowel Cancer UK chief executive Genevieve Edwards said: “At the moment, about 10% of bowel cancer are diagnosed through the screening programme, and between 20 and 25% of people are diagnosed in emergency settings like A&E, meaning their bowel cancers will be more advanced and difficult to treat successfully.

“People diagnosed through the screening programme tend to have much earlier cancers that are more easily treated successfully. I’d like to reverse those figures.

“We’ll save so many more lives in Scotland, and that’s the prize worth aiming for.”

Jane feels fortunate. Following chemotherapy and surgery, she’s been able to return to work and plan for the future again.

But she is urging others not to make the same mistakes.

“Do the test as soon as it comes in. Put it somewhere you can see it, like in your bathroom. It does just take a few minutes. Send it in.

“The chances are you’ll be absolutely fine, but if it doesn’t, you’re giving yourself the opportunity for it to be found at an earlier stage, than the anguish it caused me and my family.”

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