Kirkcaldy mum Deborah Morrison had just gone to the toilet one Friday evening and was washing her hands in her bathroom when she suddenly felt heat.
And when she looked down she noticed there was a lot of blood.
But initially she had no idea where it was coming from.
“Then I realised it was from my back passage,” the 49-year-old explains.
“So I went and sat on the toilet and there were a lot of clots. It was awful.
“I went to A&E because I was worried and they examined me. They thought it was a haemorrhoid and referred me for a colonoscopy.
“I got home the next morning.”
But then on the Sunday when the wedding and events decorator had a bowel movement she noticed something really unusual.
“It looked just like black sludge and there was a lot of blood.
“I ended up taking a picture because I don’t think a doctor would have believed me if I had tried to explain how it looked.
“I have never seen anything like it.”
That picture ended up saving Deborah’s life because after hospital consultants saw it she was referred for a CT scan which revealed she had bowel cancer.
‘Cancer didn’t even cross my mind’
It was April this year when Deborah had the unusual bowel movement.
And because it had concerned her she had taken a photograph.
She showed it to her mum who is a retired theatre nurse.
Her mum told her she should go to A&E at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, straight away.
“I was in pain at that point and they said they were going to keep me in,” Deborah explains.
“They said they didn’t know what they were looking for but that there was a major bleed somewhere.
“I did wonder what was going on but cancer didn’t even cross my mind at that stage.”
Deborah said the plan was for her to have a CT scan.
But when two consultants were doing the rounds the following day, they arrived at her bedside and told Deborah she would be going home.
They told her they thought it was just a small bleed – that her bloods were fine and that a FIT test – which screens for blood in your stool – had come back slightly positive.
Deborah was assured it was nothing to worry about.
When was Deborah diagnosed with bowel cancer?
However, while she was allowed home, her partner Alan, 47, decided to approach her consultants.
He insisted they see the photograph and showed it to them.
Deborah continues: “I didn’t see anyone until the next morning. Then a doctor came round and said I was being sent for a CT scan.
“I had the scan and then the two doctors – who had earlier wanted to discharge me – were sat by my bedside telling me I had bowel cancer.”
The scan revealed Deborah had a 40mm tumour on the right side of her bowel.
She was then sent for an emergency colonoscopy which confirmed the diagnosis.
What bowel cancer symptoms did Deborah have?
On reflection Deborah – who runs events planning and decoration service, Debroni Events, in Glenrothes – didn’t think she had any of the common bowel cancer symptoms.
These include: pain in the abdomen or back passage, unexplained weight loss, blood in the stool or a lump in the abdomen.
However, she realises there may have been other signs she ignored.
“I didn’t feel ill and had no trouble going to the toilet,” Deborah says.
“But there had been a change in one of my bowel movements in that it was an unusual clay colour.
“Another symptom is bloating.
“But in the past two years I had had a bit of a tummy and I just put it down to the menopause.
“I had been fatigued as well but had been put on iron tablets and again I thought it was part of going through the menopause.”
She adds: “That’s why bowel cancer is called the silent killer because it can be present with no obvious symptoms.”
What did the Kirkcaldy mum’s treatment involve?
Deborah says a surgeon told her they wouldn’t know if the tumour had penetrated through the wall of her bowel until she had surgery.
“I was then offered to take part in a trial where I would be given chemotherapy before my operation and then chemotherapy afterwards.
“This was to prevent the cancer from coming back.
“So I agreed to do it because I wanted to do anything I could to give me the best possible chance.
“I was determined not to let cancer beat me.”
Deborah had three rounds of chemotherapy over six weeks over the summer.
During her treatment she had severe reactions to the chemo and had to stay in hospital.
“But I had a really good result with the chemotherapy – it shrunk the 40mm tumour by 20mm.”
Then in August she had a seven-hour operation to remove the tumour and it also involved the removal of the right side of her bowel.
Afterwards she had another three rounds of chemotherapy which she finished last month.
‘The NHS specialists have all been fantastic’
Despite the initial issues with getting diagnosed, Deborah has nothing but praise for the NHS specialists who treated her.
She says: “All the specialists I had at Victoria Hospital have been fantastic.
“My colorectal nurse, surgeon and oncologist have all been amazing.
“Getting to my diagnosis was a bit hairy.
“But once I was diagnosed and in that specialist care, I personally can’t fault them.
“I was really fortunate.”
Family support
Deborah has credited her family for all their support during a difficult year.
“My mum and dad and Alan, have been my rock,” she says.
“My mum was with me when I was diagnosed. She and my dad have been incredibly supportive.
“And I could not have got through this year without Alan, he is my soul mate. He has never left my side.”
Deborah is spending Christmas with her family including her daughter Eve, 19, and Alan’s nine-year-old daughter Emily.
And she is looking ahead to a special celebration in the New Year.
“I am really looking forward to next year as there are going to be some exciting changes.
“Alan proposed to me in the summer and he and I are getting married in November 2025.
“I am really excited about the future.”
Importance of talking about ’embarrassing’ bodily functions
Deborah feels passionate about raising awareness of the symptoms of bowel cancer as early detection is key.
She says: “I was stage three cancer and there was no spread so I was very very lucky.
“I am now at stage zero and am cancer free.
“But I feel it is so important to raise awareness of symptoms especially talking about bodily functions that people might feel too embarrassed to talk about.
“But I feel it is better to discuss these things and to know what kind of poo is not normal.
“If I had known that I probably would have gone to the doctor’s sooner and got it checked out.
“It could save your life.”
Conversation