A mom who brushed off a potential warning sign of colon cancer as menopause-related has spoken about what happened to her — including the ‘unusual’ symptom she now says should never be ignored.
54-year-old businesswoman Natalie Hushin began dealing with frequent bloating, assuming it was linked to the menopause. With hormone shifts often affecting digestion, she believed the discomfort was simply part of that transition.
Alongside the bloating, she also found it difficult to go to the toilet, which she again attributed to menopause. But in June 2025, she noticed something that can be a serious red flag.
Natalie saw ‘speckled blood’ in her stool after struggling to pass it. The symptoms felt “weird and unusual,” and after she mentioned what was happening to her son, he encouraged her to seek medical advice.
Natalie, from Cheshire, England, said: “I am going through menopause at the moment, so I thought my bloating was caused by that. When I would eat, I would get a bit bloated and have a dicky stomach.
“But I would struggle to go to the toilet, and I noticed speckled blood in my stool. I told my son, and he urged me to go to the doctors to get it checked out.”
Her GP examined her and arranged a colorectal screening at a nearby hospital. The screening revealed a tumor, and she was urgently referred to a surgeon who talked her through the next steps and what surgery might involve.
Natalie said: “Straight away, I knew there was something wrong. After the screening, I was told I had a cancerous tumour.
“I just broke down. I was in utter disbelief, heartbreak and fear. I was going through every emotion possible – my whole life was flashing before me.”
About a month after being diagnosed, Natalie underwent major surgery to remove the tumor from her colon as well as surrounding lymph nodes. The operation lasted around 10 and a half hours.
She said the operation “went well,” and she then started chemotherapy for three months. However, a PET scan in December showed the cancer had also spread to her liver.
“I did six rounds of chemotherapy, oral tablets every day and infusions every fortnight for three months,” Natalie said. “I felt like I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
She was later told by a radiologist that she had a small liver tumor that could potentially be treated with an ablation — a procedure that uses targeted heat delivered through a small incision to destroy the tumor.
Natalie said: “They told me I won’t need further surgery, and it would be a small procedure to get rid of the tumour in February.”
When the date arrived, the plan changed. Natalie was told she needed an iron infusion first, and the ablation was pushed back by a month.
“This is my life, this isn’t getting an order wrong at McDonald’s,” Natalie said. “They have jeopardised the outcome of my life and put it in jeopardy.
“I was devastated. I was so close to getting over the finishing line and beating this. I should have been in remission, but instead my treatment has been delayed.”
Later, a follow-up MRI brought more difficult news: the tumor had increased to over an inch, meaning she would now need more invasive surgery to remove it.
Natalie said: “If I had my procedure when I was due, I would be in remission by now. But I am not, and that is because my treatment has been delayed.
“I am devastated; it is like being told you have cancer all over again. Mentally, I am devastated, especially as I was so close to getting over the finish line.”
In April, Natalie underwent an operation that removed part of her liver, and the procedure successfully removed the cancer. Going forward, she will need scans four times a year for the next 10 years to monitor for any return of the disease.
She said: “It is a difficult rollercoaster. I was very fortunate to have very good surgeons on both of my surgeries – I cannot fault them.
“But this surgery could have been avoided if the ablation had taken place when it was supposed to.”