A 25-year-old lady from the United States who couldn’t stop burping has discovered that her condition was caused by undiagnosed, late-stage cancer. According to People, Bailey McBreen of Florida began burping frequently – up to ten times per day – in 2021. She ignored the ailment for months, but it worsened to acid reflux and “excruciating” stomach cramps before she sought medical attention.

Ms McBreen claimed that she was eventually diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, which was a “huge shock” for her and her family. “The first sign something was wrong – although I didn’t know it at the time – was when I began excessively burping,” she told NeedToKnow. “I would burp 5–10 times each day. “This was not normal for me,” she added.

Ms McBreen described how her health began to deteriorate, with her experiencing “excruciating” pain, a loss of appetite, and an inability to use the restroom. As a nurse, she followed her instincts that she had some form of “obstruction” and went straight to the hospital. A CT scan later indicated that she had stage 3 colon cancer as well as a tumor obstructing her big intestinal tract.

“I never thought it could be linked to such a horrible disease,” she went on to say. “It truly was an out-of-body experience,” the 25-year-old explained of her diagnosis. “I recall the first thing I could say was, ‘I am not ready to die.'” Never in a million years did I suspect that any vague sensation I was experiencing was actually stage 3 colon cancer,” she explained.

Ms McBreen also told NeedToKnow.co.uk that she believes the continual burping was caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which started about a month after she noticed 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 went on to say. “GERD was a symptom in my case because my tumor was slowly causing a complete bowel obstruction,” she went on to say.

According to People, after being diagnosed, Ms McBreen underwent emergency surgery to remove the malignancy. She is currently going through chemotherapy until the end of August. She now encourages folks to heed to their bodies if something feels wrong. Notably, colon cancer is the world’s third most frequent cancer, following lung and breast cancers.