The 39-year-old from South London now wants to make sure others don’t miss the signs
A woman who endured stomach cramps for several months initially believed she had a dairy intolerance, only to discover she had bowel cancer. Cheyenne Midwinter, 39, began noticing that her stomach didn’t “feel right”, at first linking the discomfort to her menstrual cycle.
When her condition failed to improve, Cheyenne eliminated caffeine and spicy food from her diet while increasing her water intake to see if it would help. However, as her symptoms worsened and she began experiencing loose stools, blood in her stools, and an urgent need to use the toilet immediately after eating, Cheyenne sought medical advice.
Following initial blood tests, she underwent a colonoscopy which uncovered a large tumour obstructing her bowels. A subsequent biopsy confirmed a bowel cancer diagnosis. Cheyenne went through four rounds of both infused and oral chemotherapy before undergoing surgery to remove the tumour, along with a hysterectomy.
Now in her recovery stage, the mum-of-two from Kingston upon Thames, South London, remains under medical surveillance.
Cheyenne, who works as a supermarket cashier, recalled: “I thought it was either a dairy intolerance, or it was IBS. No part of me that thought it could be cancer at that point. My grandfather died from bowel cancer, but he was in his mid 80s so when I shared that with the first doctor, they said that was more common at that age.”
She continued: “When they told me and my husband, Dan, that they had found a tumour, it was devastating, as you think the worst. I had the impression that it was going to be cancerous after they found it – even though they didn’t have the biopsy results.”
Cheyenne, who originally shared her story with Sell Us Your Story, explained how she attempted various remedies before seeking medical advice – including increasing her water intake, eliminating spicy food and caffeine, and boosting her exercise routine.
She said: “I had a two-month period where my tummy didn’t feel right. At the beginning, I put it down to sometimes my period making me feel bloated and bowel movements – sometimes if I had too much caffeine. I went through a lot of things, and then I started drinking more water, cut out the spicy foods and caffeine as well as a better diet in general to see what’s going on.”
She added: “I didn’t want to go to the doctor for them to tell me to cut out certain foods. But things weren’t improving – I had loose poo, tummy cramps and then I found blood in my poo. I was a bit worried about that, but I thought something had ripped or I had wiped too hard. But then it got to the point where I would have dinner, my tummy would rumble like crazy, and it would come straight out again.”
Following her self-monitoring, Cheyenne grew increasingly worried and attended her local GP surgery in June 2025. She reports the medical professionals took her symptoms seriously and acted swiftly.
She recalled: “They were concerned and I had a sore spot on stomach which was sore to touch. I provided a stool sample, and they did blood tests as well.”
She was sent to St Peters Hospital in Surrey, where she had a colonoscopy that detected a “large” tumour. Following the discovery, Cheyenne was informed that medics were worried about it potentially obstructing her bowels.
She recalled: “When they first mentioned to me that they had found a large tumour I was by myself coming out of sedation, so I was still confused. They found a few polyps that they were able to remove during the colonoscopy and a large tumour. They were concerned that it was quite large and worried about it blocking my bowels.”
Cheyenne subsequently embarked on four cycles of chemotherapy from late July and had tumour removal surgery alongside a hysterectomy – after cancerous cells were discovered on her ovaries – during the Christmas period.
She explained: “I was fortunate that I didn’t completely lose my hair – each round included infusion with the drip and tablets. I had it once every three weeks for a 2-hour infusion. The chemo ended in October and then I had the surgery over Christmas. I had the tumour removed, part of the bowels removed, and a full hysterectomy. They can’t say I’m officially cancer-free as I’m still under surveillance, but anything cancerous has been removed.”
Cheyenne’s advice to others is to “advocate for yourself” and “check your poo.” She urged: “One thing is to definitely listen to your body and try not to palm it off as something else. People can dismiss it and when you’re worried about something, people that love and care about you want to put your mind at ease, but sometimes that can prolong you actually seeking help.”
She added: “We can get illnesses that you think might be an older person thing, but the one thing I got told more than anything was I was so young. So, it’s just being aware of how you feel. Do check your poo, give it a glance, just to make sure.”
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