Ann-Marie and her friend Emma

My best friend Emma was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 40. She had low iron and fatigue and by the time she found a doctor to take her symptoms seriously she was already Stage IV.

I never imagined when I was visiting her in hospital in August 2023 that I would be diagnosed with the same cancer a week later. I had also been struggling with fatigue and was finding myself taking naps in the car while my kids were at sport rather than my usual cheering on from the sidelines.

It was so easy to explain away my fatigue as part of the busy mum and work life juggle. Even though I was tired all the time it was the abdominal pain that made me go to the doctor. The pain had been increasing over the previous few weeks, and I was finding it difficult to walk.

A CT scan showed a large ovarian tumour and I was scheduled for surgery to have it removed. A day before this surgery the pain became so severe I went to emergency and another scan showed I had a perforated bowel. The perforation was urgently repaired but my pain and discomfort didn’t go away. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep.

A week later I was transferred to another hospital where two amazing surgeons quickly discovered the cause of my pain – a large tumour which had blocked my bowel. They needed to remove part of my bowel which couldn’t be joined back together. I needed a stoma which was confronting but it saved my life.

It felt surreal to wake up from surgery to find out I had Stage IV metastatic bowel cancer. I started chemotherapy almost immediately and was so grateful to have Emma with me every step of the way.

After 12 gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, I was ecstatic to be in remission. Emma and I scheduled a holiday in Tasmania and had the best time.

In August 2024 my cancer returned. I needed further surgery to remove two new tumours and am now on ongoing chemotherapy.

Sadly, Emma passed away in February this year after a four-year battle with this hideous disease. She never gave up fighting right up until the end.

It is an incredibly painful loss and made even more heartbreaking knowing it could have been prevented with early detection.

Bowel cancer, if detected early, has extremely high survival rates. So, it’s so important to be aware of the symptoms and to seek medical care as early as possible.

Don’t put off getting a second opinion if needed and order your free bowel screening test if you are over 45!