ABSTRACT
History A 56-year-old woman was referred by her GP to the on-call surgical team after a 1-week history of tiredness and weakness and a recent blood count showed significant anaemia. She reports having felt completely normal and well a few weeks ago at her son’s wedding, but since then has not felt quite right. Although she denies any weight loss, fevers, night sweats and change in bowel habit – and has not noticed any melaena or rectal bleeding – a full blood count performed only a month earlier as part of ‘routine screening’ had been entirely normal. Her GP was therefore concerned about the possibility of a gastrointestinal bleed.
