I was young, fit and healthy. A fitness instructor who never got sick. Until the big one.

My only symptom was a tiny bit of blood in stools, very rarely, possibly going back 5 years. I casually mentioned it to my husband and he said "shouldn't you get that checked out?".

My GP thought it was probably nothing but sent me to a specialist just in case. The specialist also expected nothing, but seven months later when she woke me from my low-priority colonoscopy she said she "found a suspicious mass that appeared malignant".

Scans indicated it was Stage 1 so I had surgery to have my sigmoid colon and most of my rectum removed. I was 47 years old at the time of my diagnosis. 

Histology showed cancer in my lymph nodes, , so it was Stage 3 after all, which meant six months of chemo and radiation. But I was so lucky. I had such a good experience with my surgeries and treatments. It was major, and I had side effects, but everything was manageable.

I opted to not work, but I still went to fitness classes, taking it easy, but moving. It was great for my physical and mental health.

I consider myself lucky to have had the support of family and friends, and to have had a good experience overall.

I'm now three years NED, and while cancer is behind me, I suffer from LARS thanks to having bowel and rectum removed, which does impact my life. But I HAVE a life! I'm back to doing all the things I did before.

My one piece of advice for others:

Don't be fooled into thinking you're too young. If you have any symptoms, get them checked out. If you have bowel cancer, it's not the end of the world. Stay positive, the surgery and treatments are manageable. Talk about it - don't be ashamed!