Chelsea Davies, 31, started getting abdominal pain and constipation in May 2021, but doctors put it down to period pain
Chelsea Davies was told she was “too young for cancer” (Image: SWNS)
A mum who was repeatedly dismissed with “period pain” and told she was “too young for cancer” has been diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer after visiting the doctor ten times.
Chelsea Davies, 31, from Tameside, began experiencing abdominal pain and constipation in May 2021, but doctors attributed it to period pain. Despite her fears that it could be cancer, she was told she was “too young” and to return if her symptoms worsened.
During this period, Chelsea suffered from blood in her stool, “extreme fatigue, and anxiety”. Over four years, she returned to the hospital more than 10 times and underwent various scans, including x-rays and a colonoscopy.
It wasn’t until a check-up in May 2025 that she was referred to an oncologist at St Mary’s Hospital. An MRI and ultrasound scan of her uterus confirmed she had multiple masses and she was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer.
Chelsea underwent an emergency hysterectomy to remove her uterus. However, due to the “severity” of her cancer, part of her bowel and her appendix were also removed, and she is now on a six-month course of chemotherapy, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Although she has not been given a prognosis, Chelsea says she “fears” her life will end short and says she “may be the next Jessica Brady,” who died from advanced stage 4 cancer after doctors also said she was “too young for cancer.”
Chelsea Davies was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer(Image: SWNS)
It comes following the new NHS initiative, called Jess’s Rule, where GPs in England are being urged to “think again” if they see a sick patient three times and can’t pin down a diagnosis, or find their symptoms are getting worse.
Chelsea Davies, a cleaner from Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, said: “I can’t believe it took four years to get an answer. It’s completely turned my life upside down. I can’t help but think my cancer was preventable.
“Now I’ve got no uterus, no eggs, and no hair. Like, Jessica, I feel like it’s too late for me and I know this rule would’ve helped me. I’m not ready to leave my two kids, Mia, 13, Jordan, 11, and partner, Noel, 41, behind.”
Chelsea first visited hospital in September 2021 after experiencing “months” of “stomach-bug-like” symptoms. “I didn’t think it was anything too serious,” she said.
“The doctors just felt my tummy and told me it’s most likely my period.” But Chelsea’s symptoms developed and worsened – and at one point, she was constipated for 14 days – and went to the doctors later that month after finding blood in her stool.
“They performed a prostate examination and later a colonoscopy,” she added. “But they couldn’t find anything. I still kept hearing that it was my period, and at one point, the doctors suggested a diet change, thinking I had IBS. Nothing they said or gave me worked.
“I was worried that it might have been cancer, but they didn’t bother to look because of my age. They said it was too rare,” she claimed.
Chelsea Davies was repeatedly dismissed by doctors(Image: SWNS)
Over four years, Chelsea went back and forth over 10 times and doctors continued to pin her symptoms to her period or diet – and was even prescribed blood thinners after doctors found a small clot in her left lung – which was “nothing”.
“I felt hopeless and convinced it was something more serious,” Chelsea said. “My body was failing me and I had it in my head that it was cancer.”
Eventually, in May 2025, Chelsea was admitted to St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester and had an MRI scan of her pelvis – where she was later diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer after specialists found lesions in her ovaries.
She underwent an emergency hysterectomy that same month, to remove her uterus – as well as her appendix and part of her bowel – as doctors explained that she was “riddled” with cancer. Chelsea is now undergoing a six-month course of chemotherapy to help keep the cancer at bay.
“I was devastated and furious,” she said. “They told me the cancer must have been in me for a while, but no one caught it. And now my body was covered in masses; they had to remove almost half my organs.”
The mum-of-two was “devastated” to find out she wouldn’t be able to have more kids naturally. “I wanted a whole football team, but that’s not possible anymore,” she added.
“For years, I thought I was crazy – and had to ask my friends if they thought I was overreacting to my symptoms. Although I’m grateful I finally know I have cancer, I can’t help but think it’s too late. Hopefully, Jess’s law can prevent people from ending up in the same situation as me. My future would probably look entirely different.”