A YOUNG mum whose bowel cancer was dismissed by GPs has urged others to stand up for themselves in the doctor's surgery.

Amy Upshall said doctors "made me feel a bit stupid" and dismissed her fears that she could be suffering from the disease which killed her grandfather.

Two years later she suffered two devastating incidents which led to her losing 10 pints of blood and coming close to death.

A tumour was then found which perforated her bowel before it could be removed, leading to an emergency operation to save her life.

Amy, 32, is taking part in Race for Life in Poole on Sunday with her children, six-year-old Riley and Mollie, five, and a big group of family members and friends. They will be supported by her husband, Gavin.

Amy, an accountant who lives in Broadstone, told the Daily Echo: "I was concerned when I had blood in my poo because my grandad passed away from bowel cancer. My mum was worried because doctors had advised some family members to be checked out.

"I told the doctor that and they just said I had piles. I wanted a camera scan but they said I was too young and brushed it off.

"They made me feel a bit stupid so I went away. Two years later I started having pains in my stomach but they said it was probably Irritable Bowel Syndrome."

Just months afterwards Amy collapsed, losing large amounts of blood and fitting in front of her children. It was only then that the disease was diagnosed.

Amy had surgery at Poole Hospital in January and is now undergoing a gruelling course of chemotherapy which will last until August because the disease had spread to her lymph nodes.

She said surgeons are confident she will then be free of cancer.

"It has been awful. The thing that broke my heart the most was that I couldn't play in the snow with the children because my treatment had made me so sensitive to the cold.

"Gavin made a snowman with them and I just about managed to run outside and have a picture taken with them before I had to rush back in."

Amy said she wants people to "trust the instincts of their own bodies" and to insist on their health concerns being investigated.

"If I had been treated straightaway it wouldn't have spread to my lymph nodes and my children wouldn't have had to see those harrowing episodes. They have had to have counselling."

Amy is raising money for Bowel Cancer UK and her Justgiving page has so far raised nearly £1,800.

Anyone who wishes to help can do so at justgiving.com/fundraising/amy-upshall