27/4/18 - This is the day my world was turned upside down.

A strong family history of bowel and ovarian cancer lead to genetic testing and the 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 and bowel cancer to follow), and great grandmother (bowel cancer) were. Scary stuff.

I cried and prayed for four days until the 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 and had just started to exit the bowel. I had a total colectomy and then three-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 check-ups - the timing may save your life!

I hold my babies tighter and am so grateful - life is so precious.

Four years on and I have an annual sigmoidoscopy (as I no longer have a colon) and endoscopy. I still see my oncologist regularly and so far; all results have been good!

My faith is what carried me through hard days. I’m so grateful for private health and wonderful doctors and nurses!

29 years of age - Stage 3 bowel cancer, I had NO idea! Extreme tiredness yes, I’m a mum of three small children and my husband works away. A bit of blood possibly sometimes when I wiped maybe, but with three babies you just think haemorrhoids/hard stool? Lost weight yes, but was in fact trying to after having a baby!

Thank God for the geneticists and university researchers who studied our family and said I needed testing for Lynch Syndrome, my first surveillance colonoscopy’s timing saved my life!