A single mom of three got some devastating news — and now she has to break it to her children.

Colorectal cancer affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum.

Before her diagnosis, the 48-year-old mother had noticed blood in her feces and remembered having such severe bleeding that she had to “sit on a towel” to stop it.

“I felt like I was giving birth — that’s how bad the pain was,” Hayward told South West News Service.

Hayward, who is from Whitchurch in Bristol, initially put off seeing a doctor due to the pandemic.

As a single parent, Hayward has “done everything” for her children, especially her youngest, Louie, who relies on her.