Susana, Australia
In early 2017 out of nowhere, I experienced a very confronting scene after a bowel movement. I rushed to a local medical centre and with a letter in hand, was advised to rush to my local hospital. After some routine tests, I was sent home despite still haemorrhaging.
Between February 2017 and November 2018, I experienced severe anaemia, stomach pains that left me in cold sweats at night... and sporadic bleeding. I visited my doctor frequently, seeking help, advice, validation and answers. Bowel cancer should have been on my radar if not on my doctors', but as a healthy, extremely fit 37-year-old, cancer was not a consideration. Two GPs and one Gastroenterologist regularly told me I was ‘fine’. So I took iron tablets and ‘stopped thinking about it’. For 21 months.
In early November 2018, after yet another very confronting bowel movement and after five colonoscopies that found ‘nothing’, I knew I needed a fourth medical opinion. I was weak, lethargic and tired of being made to feel like I was going crazy.
My second opinion Gastroenterologist saved my life.
On Friday 30th November 2018, as I came to from sedation, my doctor delivered the news: I had bowel cancer and now I needed to go for an urgent CT scan to check if it had spread to my liver and lungs.
Emergency surgery and weekly chemo for nine months followed. My family never left my side, no matter how painful and scary it got. They also took much comfort from my oncology nurses who provided a lot of calm and stability throughout my treatment
At the end of treatment, a strange sense of loss and dislocation took hold - my oncology nurses were nothing short of amazing. They'd become part of my support network, along with my parents, sister and husband. On my last day of chemo, my nurses sent me off with a small parting gift, a mug with the words ‘Suck it up. You can do it. And you did!’ - a tribute to my love for the gym and tough no nonsense instructors. Their personal approach to my care during those very difficult months on the chair made infusion days much more bearable. Their compassion, empathy, humour and willingness to meet me at whatever energy level I was traveling on week to week, made wrapping up treatment feel bittersweet, as strange as it sounds.
In the years that have followed, I've remained in remission, had a baby and completed a degree in exercise medicine (oncology). I've come to know who will stand by me, irrespective of what life throws my way. I'm grateful for my husband who loves me whether or not I have eyelashes and eyebrows, and for the few friends who took the time and care to be there, even if via phone calls and social media.
My cancer experience taught me to be my own best and loudest advocate and of the importance of early detection. Early diagnosis can and does save lives and provide better treatment outcomes and quality of life in survivorship. I'm so grateful to be able to share my story, because if it hadn't been for my persistence, I wouldn't be here today.
This story was published with the consent of Bowel Cancer Australia.