Overview

• Jenny Duncan, now 50, first noticed blood on toilet paper in 2019 and began photographing her stools as symptoms worsened.
• A GP initially suggested she was too young for bowel cancer, but the photos prompted a specialist referral and a stage 3 diagnosis in October 2019.
• She underwent chemotherapy in January 2020, surgery in March, and further chemotherapy in June during pandemic restrictions that left her isolated in hospital.
• In January 2022 she was told the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and is now incurable, with scans every three to six months and treatment based on quality of life.
• Her story is part of a new Andrex and Bowel Cancer UK campaign urging people to ‘look back’ at stool changes and seek GP advice, with experts outlining red‑flag symptoms and a simple at‑home test available.