In July 2023, at the age of 46, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer.
I was fit, healthy and looked after myself. Then I had bloating and low energy for approximately 18 months prior to the diagnosis. I was placed on hormone replacement therapy as it was assumed I was peri menopausal. When bleeding started, I went straight to my doctor who started the process for a colonoscopy which resulted in finding the 5cm tumour.
The following weeks were extremely overwhelming with specialist appointments and trying to work out how I was going to cope with the next 12 months of my life.
I underwent eight rounds of FOLFOX over four months then, 30 daily rounds of radiation with chemo. I then had surgery to remove the 0.7 mm cancer that had spread to the lung.
I had a full clinical response to the treatment with no bowel surgery required and have been told that I’m now in remission.
Although there’s people willing to gather around and support, hiking up a mountain of treatments, appointments and side effects was a lonely trek. It took both physical and mental endurance to get through it. But you do. You put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. I found it helpful to talk to others going through similar that shared the same outlook as me.
Getting a diagnosis is overwhelming and life certainly has changed, I didn’t want cancer to be my story for the next 12 months. I was fortunate enough to have a supportive workplace and continued to work flexible hours. I made sure I exercised daily, and on the toughest days when I couldn’t make it to the gym, it was a short walk with the dogs. Exercise was so important for getting through the treatment.
I’m not sure what the future holds for me, but I’ll live my life to the fullest and cherish all the small things.
One piece of advice for others: Listen to your bodies, if something doesn't seem right, get it checked out straight away. It could save your life.