'Doctors thought I had IBS - now I've been told I won't see 30'
The nausea after eating just wouldn't go away for Shannin Pain. She couldn't keep her food down and then started getting agonising cramps.
But she said doctors insisted the vomiting and the bowel changes were just down to irritable bowel syndrome. Despite visiting three different doctors, her concerns were dismissed. She was tested for IBS, coeliac disease, Crohn's and even told she might have hemorrhoids. But no one suggested a colonoscopy.
That oversight means that the 26-year-old now faces a terrifying prognosis: three years to live with chemotherapy, or just three months without it. Shannin says her cries for help were repeatedly ignored only for her to later learn she had stage four colorectal cancer that had silently spread through her body.
'I knew something wasn't right,' says Shannin, a content creator from Kawartha Lakes, Canada. 'I was told it was IBS or anxiety. But deep down, my gut was literally screaming at me.'
Her symptoms began in October 2023, when she started feeling intense nausea after eating, couldn't keep food down, and noticed her bowel habits had changed dramatically. 'I went from being regular to barely going at all. And when I did, my stool was pencil-thin,' she says. 'It might be TMI, but it was a huge red flag.'
Then came the pain: 'I'd get these stabbing cramps in my lower left abdomen—so bad I couldn't breathe. I would double over, gasping, clutching my stomach. It felt like something was ripping through me.'
The fact nobody suggested a colonoscopy infuriates Shannin. 'That's what frustrates me the most,' she said. 'Colon cancer is one of the most preventable cancers if caught early, but no one took me seriously because of my age.'
Everything changed in April 2024. Shannin was sent for an MRI to 'rule things out' and never left the hospital.
'The scan showed a complete intestinal blockage, and I was admitted on the spot for emergency surgery,' she recalled. 'When I woke up, they told me I had cancer.'
Surgeons removed the tumour in her colon and reattached it. But during the procedure, they discovered the disease had already spread to her right ovary, which had to be removed.
She was diagnosed with a Krukenberg tumour, a rare secondary cancer that originates in the gastrointestinal tract and spreads to the ovaries. In the same surgery, doctors also removed 13 lymph nodes, 11 of which were cancerous, and part of her peritoneum.
Her left ovary was preserved to give her the chance to undergo egg retrieval, which she did throughout May 2024 and successfully saved seven eggs.
'The idea of losing my fertility while fighting for my life was heartbreaking,' she says. 'I'm so grateful we were able to get those eggs. It gives me hope for the future.'
But not all the news was good. Her liver was so covered in tumours that it couldn't be operated on at all. She was told she needed to start chemotherapy immediately, or the cancer would become untreatable.
'They said without chemo, I had less than three months. With it, maybe up to three years. I just froze.'
A port was placed in her chest, and she began chemotherapy on a three-day cycle every other Monday. As of June 2025, she's completed 27 rounds and is preparing for her 28th. In October and November, things took a dangerous turn when Shannin twice went into anaphylactic shock after reacting to one of her chemo drugs.
She said: 'My throat closed up. I couldn't breathe. I honestly thought I was going to die.'
That drug was discontinued, and she now continues on two remaining treatments: one is immunotherapy and the other is a take-home chemo bottle she wears for several days after each session. Despite the intense treatment and trauma, Shannin recently received a small but hopeful update: her latest MRI shows stable disease, with no new tumours in her liver.
'Some deposits have grown slightly, but nothing alarming,' she shared. 'After taking a six-week chemo break, I was terrified the cancer had exploded. This gave me relief.'
Now, in addition to conventional treatment, Shannin is turning to personalised integrative oncology in hopes of extending her life even further. She's working with a naturopathic oncologist in Switzerland who is conducting advanced testing to determine what therapies might target her cancer specifically, such as high-dose vitamin C, Ivermectin, and other metabolic treatments.
She said: 'The goal is to test my blood against different therapies and find what actually kills my tumour cells. Then, with those results, I'll hopefully travel to Sweden and start treatment there.'
But it's not cheap. Everything from the testing and therapies to travel is out of pocket. Shannin has launched a GoFundMe to help fund her journey and give herself a fighting chance.
She said: 'This is my last hope. I'm not ready to give up. I've come this far, and I'm going to keep fighting.'
She's now documenting her experiences on TikTok, hoping to raise awareness for other young people experiencing similar symptoms: 'If I can help even one person get diagnosed sooner, it'll all be worth it. No one should be told they're too young for cancer.'
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If you notice any of the signs, don't be embarrassed and don't ignore them. Doctors are used to seeing lots of patients with bowel problems. The five red-flag symptoms of bowel cancer include: Bleeding from the back passage, or blood in your poo A change in your normal toilet habits - going more frequently for example Pain or a lump in your tummy Extreme tiredness Losing weight Tumours in the bowel typically bleed, which can cause a shortage of red blood cells, known as anaemia. It can cause tiredness and sometimes breathlessness. In some cases bowel cancer can block the bowel, this is known as a bowel obstruction. Other signs include: Gripping pains in the abdomen Feeling bloated Constipation and being unable to pass wind Being sick Feeling like you need to strain - like doing a number two - but after you've been to the loo While these are all signs to watch out for, experts warn the most serious is noticing blood in your stools. But, they warn it can prove tricky for doctors to diagnose the disease, because in most cases these symptoms will be a sign of a less serious disease.
