I couldn’t stop burping — not in a million years did I suspect Stage 3 cancer

Turns out there was no need for her to say “excuse me.”

A Florida woman was horrified after discovering that her nonstop belching was actually a warning sign that she was suffering from a potentially deadly cancer.

“I never thought it could be linked to such a horrible disease,” said Bailey McBreen, 24, of the unusual symptom. “I don’t know if I will ever fully process the fact that I am diagnosed with such an aggressive and late-stage cancer.”

The Florida nurse specifically suffered from colon cancer, a variant of the disease that starts in the large intestine, per the American Cancer Society.

Typically affecting older adults, the insidious affliction is the “third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women” in the US, and is projected to cause around 52,550 deaths across the nation in 2023, the ACS reported.

McBreen, who has worked in plastic surgery and cardiac units, said she had barely burped until 2021, when she started suffering from attacks while on a trip to Nashville with her fiancé Caden.

“I would burp 5 to 10 times a day,” McBreen recalled to NeedToKnow.Online. “This was not normal for me. I actually rarely ever burped before, and that is why I noticed how weird it was.”

Bailey McBreen (left) and fiancé Caden.Jam Press/Bailey McBreen

McBreen at the hospital.Jam Press/Bailey McBreen

However, the Floridian “didn’t think too much” of it at the time, even joking with her hubby-to-be that her belching bouts were caused by the “elevation change” in Tennessee.

McBreen reported to the doctor in February 2022 after suffering from acid reflux, only for medics to dismiss it as an anxiety symptom, she claimed.

Unfortunately, her condition continued to deteriorate. By January, the health-care professional said she was suffering from “excruciating” pain, a loss of appetite and an inability to go to the bathroom.

Feeling like something was off, McBreen finally reported to the hospital, where she learned the horrific cause of her symptoms.

McBreen shows off her surgery scar.Jam Press/Bailey McBreen

McBreen found her diagnosis shocking, given that she led a “very healthy” lifestyle, especially in the months leading up to her burping bouts.Jam Press/Bailey McBreen

A CT scan revealed that she had “Stage 3 colon cancer” and a tumor obstructing her large intestine.

“It truly was an out-of-body experience,” exclaimed McBreen. “Never in a million years did I think that any vague symptom I had was actually Stage 3 colon cancer.”

She added, “I remember the first thing I could say was, ‘I am not ready to die.’ “

As for how the excessive belching signaled her condition, McBreen explained: “Excessive burping isn’t your textbook sign of colon cancer — but my oncologist told me that it was likely the start of my symptoms.”

“I believe it’s linked to my new onset of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) that began only shortly after – within a month of developing excessive burping,” she added. “GERD was a symptom in my case because my tumor was slowly causing a complete bowel obstruction.”

Due to the blockage, food was getting trapped above McBreen’s tumor, resulting in her reflux and excessive belching.

“The first sign something was wrong – although I didn’t know it at the time – was when I began excessively burping,” said McBreen.Jam Press/Bailey McBreen

“Because I never used to burp prior and then started excessively burping 5 to 10 times a day, that was a ‘new’ thing for me – and anything new to you is not normal and needs to be addressed,” McBreen advised.Jam Press/Bailey McBreen

The Florida gal found her diagnosis particularly perplexing as she led a “very healthy” lifestyle.

“The 10 months leading up to my diagnosis, I was actually the healthiest I had ever been,” she said. “I worked out 5to 6 times a week consistently for at least 14 months. Cancer does not discriminate.”

Fortunately, doctors managed to remove the tumor via emergency surgery in late January, after which McBreen began chemotherapy, which she will continue until August.

The nurse said the “entire journey has been a roller coaster of emotions. My diagnosis has impacted my life in every possible way you could imagine,” she lamented.

“I was on a trip in Nashville in October 2021 and my fiancé, Caden, and I were joking that I was burping because of the elevation change,” McBreen said.Jam Press Vid/Bailey McBreen

Despite the ordeal, McBreen says she refuses to let the cancer “define” her and has pledged to start doing everything she can “humanly do to fight this disease.”

Her methods included using only nontoxic cookware, beauty products and cleaning supplies as well as adopting a “Mediterranean-style diet that is high fiber, low carb and full of non-processed natural foods.”

“I eat completely organic now, which I don’t think I would have ever prioritized prior to being diagnosed,” McBreen explained. “Being diagnosed with cancer has allowed me to be more aware of what I am putting on and in my body.”

The healing process has been spiritual, as well, with the cancer survivor claiming that her diagnosis made her adjust her life “priorities.”

“Now, all I care about is spending time with family, eating healthy, my faith, and surrounding myself with only my core group of friends,” she said. “Life is too short to be constantly pleasing people and doing things that don’t make you feel fulfilled.”

McBreen is using her experience to highlight the dangers of ignoring unusual symptoms.Jam Press/Bailey McBreen

McBreen didn’t think anything of her burping fits initially.Jam Press/Bailey McBreen

The courageous woman hopes to use her saga as a cautionary tale on the dangers of ignoring unusual symptoms.

“Anything that is new to you, even if it’s otherwise considered a normal thing, needs to be addressed,” she declared. “I didn’t think anything of my burping, because it was a ‘normal’ thing. It’s important to listen to your body.”