Vanessa M’s story

I was diagnosed in April 2025, after a trip to the emergency room with what I thought was a bad case of gastro i.e. vomiting, stomach cramps. The doctors were stumped; all the tests they ran on me came back negative.

After a CT-scan, they found I had a near complete bowel blockage and was rushed into emergency surgery. It came back as Stage 3 bowel cancer. It had spread to six of my lymph nodes which required six months of chemo.

I was 36 at the time of diagnosis, with two young kids. It was a terrifying time, not knowing why this happened to me. Bowel cancer wasn’t on my radar at all, but since my diagnosis, so many people my age have been diagnosed with bowel cancer.

I have had genetic testing and all came back negative. I had vague symptoms that could be explained away. Low iron – heavy periods, fatigue – busy mum with two kids, some constipation – a result of the iron tablets I was taking, a couple of instances of blood in the stool – haemorrhoids.

I’m currently NED (no evidence of disease) and have been keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.

I have been dealing with the after-effects of treatment: on and off fatigue, neuropathy in my hands and feet, and the crippling anxiety of not knowing if the cancer will return.

Spending time with my husband and kids, family, and friends is my main priority. Because life can change in an instant.

My one piece of advice:

No matter how big or small your symptoms are, go get checked out by your GP. Better to get things looked at sooner and have it be nothing, than leave it and have it be life changing. You are your best advocate for your health!