A woman diagnosed with colon cancer has highlighted five symptoms she initially dismissed. “If you have any of these symptoms, please…see a doctor. Advocate for yourself,” Radwah Oda urged in her viral TikTok video.

First, she experienced chronic fatigue, explaining, “I had extreme fatigue regardless of how much I slept… nothing helped.” Oda also dismissed unexplained pain near her right breast, attributing it to a tight bra, which turned out to be cancer spreading to her liver.

Other symptoms included thin stools, which she blamed on constipation, and blood in her stool, which she assumed was from hemorrhoids. Lastly, she constantly felt the urge to use the restroom but couldn’t fully relieve herself, again mistaking it for constipation.

Similarly, Zoe Gardner-Lawson, diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, emphasized the importance of early screenings. Despite symptoms like back pain and abdominal discomfort, her cancer went undiagnosed for years. “If my disease was caught earlier, it would’ve been easier to treat,” she said.