The Premium Debate: Subscribers have their say on bowel cancer screening

Rachael Ferguson had surgery and six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rachael Ferguson had surgery and six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Photo / Andrew Warner 060522aw09.JPG

OPINION

Rachael Ferguson had the next stage of her life planned out. The 33-year-old got married in November 2020 and planned to start trying for a baby with her husband.
She'd had an "unsettled and stressful" year and thought: "We've got through the worst of everything."
But that December, Ferguson received news that made her wonder if she should start planning her funeral.
She had been diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer - she was left "shocked" and "numb" after discovering she had what she thought was "an old person's disease" at 32.

Read the full story: Bowel cancer: Tauranga woman survives Stage 4 diagnosis - 'It's pretty much life back to normal'

Have your say by going to bayofplentytimes.co.nz and becoming a Premium subscriber.

I lost a relative to cancer in his early 30s so I think lowering the age of screening would help catch it sooner and save young lives.
- John D

Luckily nationwide screening for bowel cancer began last year so that it could catch people with no symptoms yet.
I'm really surprised that someone could get to stage 4 without being aware of symptoms.
- Hector B

In reply to Hector B:
Believe it or not, Hector, it can and does happen. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer in January 2016. There were no symptoms, as in aches/pains. I had an operation for an unrelated breast cancer in 2014, and my medical centre monitored my blood results. In October 2015, my iron levels dropped away suddenly, which resulted in a series of tests, finishing with a colonoscopy which confirmed a malignant tumour in my transverse colon (New Years' Eve, 2015). A CT scan a week later confirmed that the cancer had spread to my liver and lungs. I was fortunate enough to be in good health otherwise and I had life-saving surgery to my colon, followed by six months of horrible chemo, two segments removed from my liver followed by another six months of chemo. I'm lucky enough to be here to tell the tale - I was 58 at the time my bloods were queried.
- Lesley G

The mortality rate of colorectal cancer in NZ is equal to that of breast and prostate combined, yet there's very little coverage of this. It highlights the need to keep questioning the diagnosis, and have a low threshold to see a specialist.
- Jane B

Seems like a plan. Surely we could use some of that government spending to redirect to frontline screening like this.
- David H

Good on you for speaking out and for getting through some tough treatments. It does highlight the need for people to be persistent and to not always accept a diagnosis of haemorrhoids if symptoms persist or pain continues. A message for all but particularly those whose doctors "assume" because patients are too young it can't be cancer. Well done you, and thanks.
- John W

- Republished comments may be edited at the editor's discretion.

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