24-Year-Old Discovers Stage 3 Cancer Following Persistent Burping Ignored as Minor Issue

A young woman of 25 years in the United States, who was unable to control her burping, discovered that her symptom was a result of an undetected advanced stage cancer.

As reported by People, Bailey McBreen, a resident of Florida, began experiencing frequent burping – as often as 10 times a day – in 2021. She initially dismissed the symptom, but sought medical attention when it escalated to acid reflux and severe stomach cramps. Ms McBreen shared that she was ultimately diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, a revelation that greatly shocked her and her family.

“In retrospect, the first indication that something was amiss – though I was unaware at the time – was my excessive burping,” Ms McBreen confided to NeedToKnow. “I would burp between 5 to 10 times a day, which was unusual for me,” she further explained.

Ms McBreen explained that her health started deteriorating and she started dealing with “excruciating” pain, a loss of appetite and an inability to go to the bathroom. As a nurse, she then trusted her instincts that she had some sort of “obstruction” and immediately went to the hospital. Later, a CT scan revealed that she had stage 3 colon cancer and a tumour obstructing her large intestine. 

“I never thought it could be linked to such a horrible disease,” she said. “It truly was an out-of-body experience,” the 25-year-old added of her diagnosis. “I remember the first thing I could say was, ‘I am not ready to die.’ Never in a million years did I think that any vague symptom I had was actually stage 3 colon cancer,” she said. 

Further, Ms McBreen told NeedToKnow.co.uk that she believes the nonstop burping was linked to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which began a month after noticing the burping.

“Excessive burping isn’t your textbook sign of colon cancer – but my oncologist told me that it was likely the start of my symptoms,” she said. “GERD was a symptom in my case because my tumor was slowly causing a complete bowel obstruction,” she added.

According to People, following her diagnosis, Ms McBreen had emergency surgery to remove the tumour. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy until the end of August.