Bella Bayliss, a 25-year-old from Gloucester, Gloucestershire, faced a challenging health journey when her early symptoms were overlooked by medical professionals. In January 2019, Bella went to the A&E department at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital experiencing stomach bloating, pain, breathlessness, and tingling in her hands and legs. Despite her severe discomfort, doctors reportedly attributed her symptoms to common “women’s problems” and sent her home.
Unconvinced, Bella continued to experience worsening symptoms, including unexplained weight gain despite a poor appetite and difficulty eating even small meals. By the end of 2019, a persistent suspicion led her back to the hospital. This time, an endoscopy revealed a 6cm tumour in her stomach. Subsequent tests confirmed the diagnosis of Gastro-Intestinal Stromal Tumour (GIST), a rare form of sarcoma affecting the digestive system.
In February 2020, Bella underwent surgery to remove the tumour along with 70% of her stomach. After five years of remission, routine scans in September 2025 revealed two new tumours on her liver, indicating the cancer had returned. This devastating news came as a shock to Bella and her family, marking a difficult new chapter in her battle against the disease.
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Bella describes the substantial impact the cancer and its treatment have had on her life. Post-surgery, she struggles with eating dairy and large meals and lives with a prominent surgical scar that affected her self-confidence, though she has grown to embrace it as a symbol of her resilience. She also highlights the rarity of her cancer, noting that local hospitals were unfamiliar with her condition and that standard chemotherapy is ineffective against GIST. Currently, surgery remains the only viable treatment option.
Reflecting on her experience, Bella expressed frustration that earlier diagnosis might have spared her extensive surgery, as the tumour grew significantly during the months when her symptoms were dismissed. Despite ongoing challenges, Bella remains determined to face her illness head-on.
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust acknowledged the difficulties Bella faced, expressing regret for the delays in diagnosis and affirming that her case has been used to improve clinical awareness of rare cancers like GIST.
Gastro-Intestinal Stromal Tumours are a rare type of sarcoma most commonly found in the stomach but can appear in other parts of the digestive tract. Due to their rarity and complexity, diagnosis requires careful clinical evaluation, and treatment options remain limited.