The Bottom Line On Bowel Cancer

Australia has one of the highest bowel cancer rates in the world, and the incidence is rising in young people, discovers Sheree Mutton

- Sheree Mutton

Bridget Bennie will never forget her daughter’s first birthday. A day reserved for celebrating an important milestone was turned on its head when she was told that she had stage three bowel cancer. The 34-year-old mother-of-two from Brisbane says the cancer diagnosis came as a shock despite the fact she’d been experiencing problems with her bowel.

“It was heart-breaking news. My world was rocked,” says Bridget. “The blood in my stool started after my daughter was born. I remember having a conversation with a friend when I came back from the toilet for the third time during our lunch. I said, ‘The bleeding only starts after my fifth or sixth poo of the day; I normally do about 10 a day.’ I still remember the look of horror on her face.”

After almost a year of feeling unwell and irregular bowel habits, Bridget, a primary school teacher, says she finally decided to seek the opinion of her GP. She was given a referral for a colonoscopy, but told that the bleeding was most likely haemorrhoids.

“I didn’t go for my colonoscopy straight away after getting the referral. I waited a few months,” recalls Bridget. “I had breastfed my son until his first birthday and I was determined to do that for my daughter too. I didn’t want the anaesthetic to affect my milk flow.”

Looking back, Bridget knows that the delay could have had devastating consequences. “I thought what I was experiencing was normal and I was too embarrassed to be completely honest about my toileting,” she recalls. “Imagine if I’d had the courage to do that even a few months prior.”