Brittany M’s story

I moved to Melbourne from New Zealand in 2022 to be with my partner and begin my PhD research in health. In June 2024, I gave birth to my daughter.

Soon after giving birth, I knew something was seriously wrong. I first brought it up with the midwives. I was having problems going to the toilet, a lot of bleeding, and abdominal pain. Overall, things just didn’t feel right. Then came the phrase I heard so many times that I began gaslighting myself into thinking nothing was wrong:

You’ve just had a baby, so it’s probably just haemorrhoids. Give it time, it’s normal. It’s not cancer, you’re too young.

By my six-week postpartum checkup with the GP, things were worse, and I raised my concerns again. But once more, they were pushed aside. I was told to wait. that it was normal to feel this way after having a baby. Over the next six months I returned to the GP several times with worsening symptoms. I was told I’d be put on the list for a colonoscopy, but that it wouldn’t happen any time soon as I was considered low-risk.

I sat wondering what on earth I’d have to go through to be considered high-risk. By this point, I had every symptom listed for bowel cancer.

By December, the bleeding and abdominal pain were so bad I couldn’t move from the bathroom floor. I ended up calling myself an ambulance. Finally, I thought, I’d get the attention I needed. But I was sent home from the ED that same day after being reassured it wouldn’t be cancer. I was told I’d still need a colonoscopy, yet I remained a low-risk case. No, I wouldn’t get a diagnostic scan unless I was older. Again, I was ‘too young for cancer.’

It felt like banging my head against a wall trying to get any health professional to listen.

I returned to the GP to be referred to a gastroenterologist. Again, it was another specialist telling me not to worry — that it wouldn’t be cancer and was likely just haemorrhoids. However, this time they tested for inflammation markers. The results of which placed me in the high-risk category and made me eligible for a colonoscopy as soon as possible.

I received my diagnosis of Stage 3 locally advanced rectal cancer when I was 10 months postpartum, and I began treatment immediately.
I am currently about halfway through treatment and thinking positively about the future. I like to think I’m coping well! I still feel very angry about how hard I had to push for a diagnosis, but I am also incredibly grateful for the care and support I now receive from the oncology team at my hospital and from Bowel Cancer Australia.

My one piece of advice:

It is really hard being your own advocate when you know something is wrong, but it is so worth it. Never accept an assumption as diagnosis. You can never be considered too young for cancer.