Christine W’s story

27/4/18 This is the day my world was turned upside down. A strong family history of bowel & ovarian cancer lead to genetic testing & positive result I had Lynch syndrome.

This day was my first surveillance colonoscopy which revealed cancer – I had no symptoms! I was 29, far younger than my father(bowel cancer age 50), grandmother(ovarian cancer age 50, bowel cancer to follow) & great grandmother(bowel cancer) were. Scary stuff. I cried & prayed for 4 days until CT scan results were back with the fear of it being spread. It was stage 3 bowel cancer the size of an apple, it was in a lymph node & had just started to exit the bowel. I had a total colectomy & then 3 months chemo via a port-a-cath.

The following year I had a preventative hysterectomy including ovaries at age 30. I’m sharing this because awareness is important! I don’t want my suffering to be in vain – I hope it helps someone. Get the uncomfortable checkups – the timing may save your life! I hold my babies tighter & am so grateful – life is so precious. 4 years on I have an annual sigmoidoscopy (as I no longer have a colon) & endoscopy. I still see my oncologist regularly & so far all results have been good!

My advice for others:

My faith in God is what carried me through hard days. I’m so grateful for private health & wonderful doctors & nurses! 29 years of age – stage 3 bowel cancer, I had NO idea! Extreme Tiredness yes, I’m a mum of 3 small children & my husband works away. A bit of blood possibly sometimes when I wiped maybe, but 3 babies so you just think haemorrhoids/hard stool? Lost weight yes, but was in fact trying to after having a baby! Thank God for Genetics Queensland & Melbourne University who had studied our family & said I needed testing for Lynch Syndrome, my first surveillance colonoscopy’s timing saved my life!