Waipurukamu Morrison has been in remission for a year-and-a-half. Photo / Mead Norton
Waipurukamu Morrison has been in remission for a year-and-a-half. Photo / Mead Norton
Waipurukamu Morrison's first thought when she was diagnosed with bowel cancer was who would look after her children if she died.
But it was caught in time - and after undergoing radiation, chemotherapy and surgery, life is now "back to normal".
"I'm working ... everything is as normal and ashappy and as blissful as can be."
Morrison was 40 when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer in August 2020 after experiencing a change in bowel motions, pain in her legs and fatigue.
The Rotorua wāhine Māori is now warning people to "not ignore the symptoms" of bowel cancer and "listen to your body".
It comes as new data, obtained under the Official Information Act from Te Whatu Ora Lakes, shows nearly 30,000 bowel cancer screening kits have been sent to Lakes residents since February 2019.
But just over half of those kits - 56.8 per cent - have been returned.
Waipurukamu Morrison was diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer in August 2020. Photo / Mead Norton
When broken down by ethnicity, less than half of the kits sent to Māori and Pasifika have been returned - 45.8 per cent and 41.1 per cent.
The "low" participation rates were "definitely a concern," Morrison said.
But she focused on the positive: "Forty-five per cent [for Māori] is better than nothing - if you didn't send those tests out, that's 45 per cent that wouldn't go and get them done."
The National Bowel Screening Programme was rolled out in the Te Whatu Ora Lakes region in February 2019. A spokesperson said it was free for people aged 60 to 74 and aimed to save lives by finding bowel cancer at an early stage when it can often be successfully treated.
Between February 2019 and June 1, 2022, 615 colonoscopies had been undertaken, the spokesperson said.
The screening programme will soon be extended to cover Māori and Pasifika aged 50 to 74, as announced by the Government in Budget 2022. The initiative would be launched in selected regions this year before being extended nationally from July next year.
It also comes as a national campaign was launched earlier this month to promote public awareness about bowel screening, with a focus on increasing participation for eligible Māori, Pasifika and disabled people.
The data showed 28,967 bowel cancer screening kits were sent to eligible residents between February 2019 and June 1, 2022. From those, 16,458 kits were returned.
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Speaking to the Rotorua Daily Post, Morrison said as a mother of three, one of the first thoughts she had was her children.
"All that went through my mind was ... I'm going to die.
"You kind of think there's no one in the world that can look after your children better than you."
Morrison said she cried for two weeks before mentally accepting her diagnosis. She then started six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy in Hamilton.
But at her next check-up, Morrison was told the radiation had not shrunk the cancer enough and she had surgery to cut out part of her bowel.
Morrison has now been in remission for a year-and-a-half and gets regular check-ups. She says life is "back to normal".
"I'm working ... everything is as normal and as happy and as blissful as can be."
Waipurukamu Morrison underwent six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy, and surgery to cut out part of her bowel. Photo / Mead Norton
Her message is to "not ignore the symptoms" and get to know your body.
Her main symptom was a change in bowel motions.
"At the time ... I was also going through kapa haka practices for regionals and with that comes a lot of physical activity and its own stress ... I thought that my body was just going through all these kinds of stress changes. I didn't think it was a symptom at all."
She went to the doctor and was given medication, but the symptom continued.
"Then I started getting really sore up and down my legs - I started getting some pins and needles and very, very tired. And also loss of appetite."
She went to the doctor again and "really pushed them for tests".
"You really have to listen to your body - that's the one thing I would say to anybody ... in particular Māori because I know we tend to just brush things off more."
She got a colonoscopy, which "straight away" showed she had bowel cancer.
On the data, Morrison said the participation rates for ethnicities were "all low".
"It's definitely a concern with our older people not doing their tests."
"The main thing is you get tested... Don't be afraid, it is not intrusive, you can do it in the comfort of your own home, it's very easy.
Bowel Cancer New Zealand nurse support co-ordinator Victoria Thompson said bowel cancer was "treatable and bearable" if caught early.
Asked what prevented people from taking the kits, Thompson said: "There is a perception you have to touch your poo and so we are helping educate Kiwis this is not the case.
"We know for some there is whakamā (shame/embarrassment) and is not a subject that can be talked about."
Thompson said education would help improve participation rates.
"Educate that bowel cancer is the most preventable cancer with regular screening and the importance of doing this lifesaving test."
Waipurukamu Morrison has been in remission for a year-and-a-half. Photo / Mead Norton
A Te Whatu Ora Lakes spokesperson said it acknowledged there was more to do to improve the participation rates of Māori and Pasifika. It worked with Te Manawa Taki, the National Bowel Screening Māori and Pacific Network and primary care to identify, engage and initiate strategies to support bowel screening participation, the spokesperson said.
"We support contact with 'hard-to-reach' individuals who do not respond to screening invitation."
It also developed and maintained "positive relationships" with iwi, hapu, marae and other community organisations, and co-ordinated events such as marae hauora days.
"Te Whatu Ora Lakes is hopeful that the rollout of the national promotion programme for bowel screening and our continued work in the community will improve these rates."
National data provided by the Ministry of Health showed participation rates for the programme for a two-year period ending June 30. Pacific peoples had the lowest participation rate of 39.1 per cent and Māori had a 48.5 per cent participation rate. Those identifying as other had a 62.4 per cent participation rate.
