Colorectal cancer is epidemiologically a disease of the middle-aged and elderly. However, it may occur in the young where it presents with virulent biological behavior and poor prognosis. The symptoms of colorectal cancer may be masked by symptoms of pregnancy and the patient may attribute it to the pregnancy, especially in multiparous patients whose anxiety and apprehension levels may be lower and hence present late to health care providers. Antenatal women who present with such symptoms must be investigated further under the available repertoire of investigations possible in pregnancy without causing any maternal or fetal hazard. Treatment with chemotherapy and radiation for cancer in this setting is further hampered by justifiable concerns over fetal well-being. We present a case of colorectal cancer in a young multiparous female and the associated difficulties in diagnosis and management. The challenges with colorectal cancers and pregnancies are expected to rise in the future with a decreasing trend in age of colorectal cancer occurrence and an increasing age of pregnancy due to lifestyle changes.

complemented by a retrospective case-control, thematic analysis of electronic patient records, to examine the patient journey throughout the duration of the hospice stay. Results LLOS admissions accounted for 23%(76) of admissions to our hospice in 2015 (2342 bed days), median stay 28 days, 55% female, median age 69 years, 96% (73 admissions) referred for symptom control. Admission outcome: 38% (29) of patients discharged, of which 59% (17) had a new care arrangement following their stay.No significant findings when analysing the following against LLOS admissions and admission outcome: Patient age, gender, primary diagnosis, number of comorbidities, presence of formal social care support, and permanent residence.Thematic analysis identified 4 overarching themes implicated in LLOS: Uncertainty, In-house interventions, clinical and social complexity. This analysis emphasised, in particular, the interplay between communicating and managing uncertainty and social complexity. Conclusion Our results would suggest that there are no sociodemographic or disease factors associated with LLOS. Thematic analysis provides an alternative and successful method of service evaluation. Thematic results emphasise the need for research into managing complexity and uncertainty in addition to highlighting the fact that our growing capacity to provide in-house interventions comes, ultimately, at a cost to bed availability.