Colin Campbell was otherwise fit and healthy when he suddenly developed painful abdominal pain. It was appendicitis and he had to be rushed to hospital.
But instead of having surgery as he expected, he was treated with antibiotics – a decision which he says left him desperately ill, eventually paying privately to have his appendix removed, only to find out he had done so. cancer in his appendix which might have been noticed sooner if he had had the surgery sooner.
His ordeal began over a bank holiday weekend in May 2024, when he woke up with pain radiating from his belly button.
Colin, now 49, a commercial diver, from the Isle of Gigha, Argyll, in Scotland, called a nurse. Suspecting it was acute appendicitis, she arranged for Colin to be taken by ambulance and ferry to the Scottish mainland, before being transferred another 40 miles by ambulance to hospital.
However, they couldn’t operate there, so he was sent on a journey of another 70 miles to a hospital that could.
Colin was admitted, but instead of emergency surgery to remove the infected appendix, he was treated with antibiotics and painkillers for six days.
In Colin’s case, he had the classic symptoms: severe pain when doctors pressed and released on the right side of his abdomen, fever, nausea and blood test results that looked like appendicitis.
Colin Campbell’s appendicitis was treated with antibiotics but it left him desperately ill and he subsequently had to pay privately to have his appendix removed
Colin, a commercial diver, from the Isle of Gigha, Argyll, called a nurse when he woke up with pain radiating from his navel. She arranged for him to be taken by ambulance and ferry to the Scottish mainland, where he was transferred a further 40 miles to hospital.
But the first surgeon Colin saw initially gave him triple intravenous (IV) antibiotics, fluids, and IV acetaminophen.
The next morning a new surgeon told him that antibiotics were increasingly being used instead of surgery, but added: “But in your case you do need surgery.”
“I was relieved – finally something was being done,” Colin told Good Health.
The surgeon ordered a CT scan and told Colin to prepare for theater.
Colin says: ‘But hours went by without surgery. Then I heard that an x-ray photographer could not be arranged for the scan and the surgeon changed his mind. He enthusiastically explained the benefits of antibiotic treatment, saying that he was “treating the whole patient, not just the symptoms.”’
Colin was not convinced.
‘I’m an offshore diver on a remote island with no doctor. I told the surgeon I wanted to remove the appendix,” he recalls.
But the surgeon insisted there was ‘only a 15 per cent chance of recurrence after antibiotic treatment’ and that his appendix would ‘shrivel and heal’.
“He also said that surgery to treat appendicitis is a mistake of the past and that antibiotics are the future of appendicitis treatment,” Colin recalls.
According to official guidelines, a scan (e.g. ultrasound, CT scan or MRI scan) is considered ‘valuable’ in distinguishing between complicated and uncomplicated appendicitis.
On the third day in hospital, Colin had a CT scan which showed he had uncomplicated appendicitis – so the surgeon now confirmed that surgery was not necessary.
But that afternoon, Colin experienced a sudden pain so severe that he fell to the floor in sweat.
That night his condition deteriorated dramatically – despite 32 infusions of antibiotics and paracetamol over the three days, his temperature reached 40 degrees Celsius and blood tests showed his inflammation levels were high, indicating a serious infection.
“I kept insisting that something was wrong, and the non-surgical treatment was not right for me,” he says.
When his condition worsened, Colin says the nurses became so concerned that they called the emergency department.
The next day, his appendicitis symptoms began to improve, but he developed other problems, including numb hands, difficulty speaking and hallucinations.
Colin suspected that one of the antibiotics was responsible.
“My symptoms spiked every time I got an IV dose of metronidazole,” he says. Known side effects of the drug include neurotoxicity, seizures, and altered mental status.
But he says the surgeon dismissed his concerns. Colin later discovered that his medical notes attributed his concerns to ‘health anxiety’.
“I was now finding it difficult to find words and form sentences,” he adds.
Colin explained to the surgeon that he was an offshore diver on a remote island with no doctor, but the doctor continued to insist that antibiotics are the future of appendicitis treatment.
Tests revealed that Colin’s appendicitis was caused by a tumor and he is now monitored for the spread of cancer with regular scans and blood tests.
After Colin spent six days in hospital and feared he was not being listened to, his sister Norah – who lived three hours away – arrived to take him to the emergency room at another hospital, where he was told to stay nearby and return if his symptoms worsened.
In the following days, some neurological problems began to improve.
“But I knew the appendix was problematic and that the appendicitis was likely to come back,” he says.
So Colin went to a private surgeon who described his treatment as ‘madness’ and explained that appendicitis can have several causes, including appendiceal cancer – and advised Colin to have his appendix removed.
His GP referred him for a second opinion and appendix removal, but four months later he was still waiting for an NHS appointment and unable to work.
At this point he borrowed money and paid around £17,000 to go back to the private surgeon and have his appendix removed (and the associated medical care).
After the operation, examination revealed that his appendicitis was caused by a tumor in his appendix, which had ruptured.
He is now being monitored for the spread of cancer with regular scans and blood tests.
Although cancer of the appendix is very rare – affecting only a handful of people per million each year – a 2025 study by the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville found that the number of cases quadrupled among those born after 1985 compared to those born in the 1940s.
The rising rate of obesity may be a factor; researchers suspect that diets high in sugary drinks and red or processed meat may also be partly to blame.
A study published earlier this year in the Royal College of Surgeons journal, involving more than 1,000 patients from Glasgow, found that 3.2 percent of those diagnosed with ‘uncomplicated’ appendicitis were later found to have tumors in their appendix after later undergoing an appendectomy.
The study concluded that ‘antibiotic treatment of appendicitis is associated with high recurrence and risk of missed neoplasms’ [i.e. tumours].’
Colin is angry about the way he was treated.
“Patients are misled about the benefits and risks of antibiotic treatment for appendicitis,” he says.
‘I asked the right questions, but my concerns were dismissed as health fears.
‘If I had had an early appendectomy, the tumor would not have ruptured and possibly not spread. I would also not suffer any permanent neurological damage from the antibiotics.’
He adds: ‘I have returned to work after two years, but have lost time and money. Moreover, I am dealing with unnecessary long-term risks to my health.’
