In our ongoing series of articles on experiences of the NHS, Natalie Glanvill speaks to a woman who survived cancer, despite a long delay in being sent for tests by GPs.

Emma Dore was 35 when she quickly and inexplicably dropped five dress sizes and started to loose her hair. 

Her trips to the toilet dwindled to just three times a month, her weight dropped off her and she always felt exhausted. 

The bride-to-be saw several GPs at a surgery in Chingford over an 18-month period, between 2007 and 2009, and consulted a colorectal specialist on a number of occasions. 

Mrs Dore, now 43, said: "I only ever had blood tests which showed I was extremely anaemic and this was put down to heavy periods. 

"I was suffering from abdominal pains and told it was irritable bowel syndrome. I thought I was in safe hands.

"I lost so much weight I could feel the tumour myself". 

After "pleading" with the specialist, Mrs Dore was finally referred to Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone for tests. 

She added: "When I had the endoscopy, my heart sank. 

"They couldn’t get the camera past my stomach, the tumour was so high up in my colon.

"I knew in the back of my head something was wrong.

"I went from being a size 16 to size eight, my hair had started falling out and my nails had dropped off." 

Within a week of being referred to Whipps Cross, Ms Dore was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer and underwent surgery. 

Her mother Valerie Marsden of Lawrence Hill, Chingford, said: "As soon as [the doctors] got the results back, they knew exactly what to do. 

"They jumped into action and saved my daughter’s life.

"If they had not of acted so swiftly, she would have been dead within four to six weeks, we were told.

"The doctors should diagnose my daughter's cancer far sooner, it could have saved her polyps from turning cancerous."  

Mrs Dore moved to Hornchurch after six months of chemotherapy in the summer of 2010.

She changed her GP practice, which cannot be named for legal reasons, straight after leaving hospital.  

In a new series on the NHS, the Guardian will feature experiences of patients, their families and staff of treatment provided across east London and west Essex. As A&Es continue to struggle with demand and politicians argue over the future of healthcare, we will publish first-hand accounts, features and news stories on the latest developments. We want to hear from you if you have something to say about your local hospital, GP surgery, or clinic. Click here for contact details of reporters covering your area. Alternatively, you can submit a story here.