Alexis C’s story

I didn’t choose this life, but it’s the one I’m living.

When I was found to be anaemic in July 2021, I followed the sensible next step and had a colonoscopy. I didn’t expect it to lead to cancer, or to surgery the very next day because my bowel was thought to have ruptured. There was no gradual entry into this world — I was dropped straight into it.

I was told I had Stage 3C bowel cancer. Serious, but still something that could be treated with intent. I did the six months of FOLFOX chemotherapy, got through it, and slowly returned to a life that felt recognisable again. For a while, cancer was something that had happened, not something that was happening.

That changed in November 2023, when metastatic disease was discovered.

There’s a particular kind of shock that comes with that word. Not panic exactly – more a quiet, hollowing realisation that the ground has shifted again. What followed wasn’t heroics or dramatic resolve, but decisions. Conversations. Weighing risks. Choosing what was worth attempting.

In January 2024, I travelled from Queensland to Sydney for surgery. It was a deliberate choice, not a desperate one. The operation lasted 12 hours and included a radical hysterectomy, gall bladder removal, peritonectomy, liver resection, and intra-operative chemotherapy. I spent 16 days in hospital afterwards. It was exhausting in ways that are hard to explain. That surgery wasn’t about wiping cancer away forever — it was about giving myself more ground to stand on.

After that, I moved through treatments that didn’t work as well as we’d hoped, and others that did. FOLFIRI with bevacizumab taught us what my cancer wasn’t responsive to. SIRT showed that local control could be effective. A single rib metastasis, treated with SBRT, showed that not every setback had to be catastrophic.

The real shift came with FOLFOX and panitumumab. The response was strong and clear. Scans quietened. Markers fell. That wasn’t a miracle – it was information. It showed that my cancer has patterns, and that those patterns can be worked with.

Since then, life has been less about milestones and more about balance. Some lesions still exist on scans, but they’re inactive. Blood results fluctuate. Appointments come and go. None of it is simple, but it’s also not the constant crisis people imagine cancer to be.

Hope, for me, doesn’t look like believing everything will be fine. It looks like trusting that there will be options, that decisions will be made thoughtfully, and that I can keep living a life that holds meaning even alongside uncertainty.

I’ve learned that I don’t need to be endlessly positive, or brave in a performative way. I just need to keep showing up to my own life – to the ordinary days, the quiet moments, the things that still bring steadiness.

This isn’t about fighting or winning.

It’s about living well enough, for as long as I can, in the life that’s here.

And that, for now, is enough.

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My one piece of advice:

Seek second opinions, choose your medical team and make sure your goals are aligned.

Read and research, or find an advocate who can. Learn about your specific cancer characteristics and what that might mean for treatment and other options. you want to be an active participant in your care.

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Every bowel cancer patient deserves to have access to a dedicated Bowel Care Nurse.

In the year 2021, I received a diagnosis of bowel cancer, which prompted me to undergo surgery followed by an intensive six-month chemotherapy regimen. Residing in the Mackay region, I was cared for by remarkable nursing staff and my dedicated Oncologist. Despite their excellent care, I often felt a sense of disconnection from any supportive bowel cancer community.

However, my experience took a positive turn following a recurrence of my illness – I had the opportunity to interact with Sue, the newly appointed Bowel Cancer Australia specialist Bowel Care Nurse. Her involvement has been transformative for me. Sue has proven to be an invaluable resource, providing me with comprehensive information and unwavering support. She makes it a point to visit me throughout my treatment cycles and consistently follows up to check on my wellbeing when she knows I am struggling.

I sincerely appreciate Sue’s commitment to advocating for numerous patients, assisting us in navigating our health journeys and encouraging us to speak up for ourselves. My gratitude extends to both Sue and Bowel Cancer Australia for their dedicated efforts in supporting regional communities, including ours, during such trying times.

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Bowel cancer is the fourth most diagnosed and second deadliest cancer in Australia, yet people diagnosed with bowel cancer don’t receive the same level of support as those with other common cancers.

Bowel Cancer Australia’s specialist Bowel Care Nurse program is helping to address this gap, by funding in-person Bowel Care Nurses in hospitals and Cancer Centres across Australia.

The 100% community funded program enables people with bowel cancer to receive dedicated in-person clinical, psychosocial and emotional support from a specialist Bowel Care Nurse in the place where they are receiving treatment. Improving equity of access to personalised care and tailored support and allowing more people to access coordinated care closer to home.

Bowel Cancer Australia continues to raise funds to expand our specialist Bowel Care Nurses program so more patients can receive support from an in-person Bowel Care Nurse.

Every bowel cancer patient deserves to have access to a dedicated Bowel Care Nurse.