I was 28, healthy and fit when a routine blood test led to a stage-four colorectal cancer diagnosis: Then they gave me three years to live

Samantha Bulloch went from enjoying her 20s to having as little as three years left to live after doctors found life-threatening tumours spread through her colon, liver and right lung following a routine blood test.

On February 28, the healthy and fit library assistant had her world turned upside down after being diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer that had spread to her organs. 

In January, Samantha, from Sydney, visited her GP for a blood test to check her iron which led to the detection of the cancer. 

‘I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I’m not overweight, I don’t eat processed meat, I barely eat red meat, and have no family history of bowel cancer – it just didn’t make sense,’ Samantha, now 29, told FEMAIL.

Her symptoms included ‘random’ fatigue, the odd bout of bloating and some blood spotting during 2020 which she put down to stress. Before her test she also had some severe pain in her shoulder.

At this stage she’ll remain on fortnightly treatment indefinitely. If the cancer remained undetected she believes doctors would’ve had few options for her moving forward.

‘I thought I was fit and healthy! I’ve always had iron problems but never thought too much of it. One day at work I was way more tired than normal and I had to sit down because I was so exhausted,’ she said. 

‘I thought “that’s weird” but assumed it was because I had started a new job, had low iron and was learning the ropes of something completely different. It was close to Christmas too and everyone is always tired by the end of the year.’

So she made the responsible decision to go see her doctor in January 2023. 

The blood test results confirmed she’s anaemic but also highlighted something unexpected – her liver enzymes were ‘three times outside the normal rate’.

The GP made an appointment to do an ultrasound on Samantha’s liver which revealed ‘non-specific lesions’ and a mass.  The report also listed a variety of illnesses that it could be – one of them being cancer. 

‘When I saw that I already thought it was a death sentence,’ she said.   

A week later the results from a CT scan confirmed Samantha’s worst fears – she had a tumour growing in her sigmoid colon which had spread to her liver and right lung. 

‘I thought how have I been living with tumours growing in my body and didn’t know about it? It was wild to me,’ she said. 

‘I remember sitting in that appointment with my GP and my dad thinking “it’s over, they’re going to tell me there’s nothing they can do”. 

‘I knew how bad it was and that absolutely terrified me.’

The tumour in her colon was 6cm, the two in her liver were 8cm and the one in her right lung was 1.5cm. She also has a ‘bunch of little tumours’ scattered in her liver that can’t be measured.

The life-changing news shook Samantha to her core and at first she initially thought, ‘I can’t do this, I don’t want to do this, I’m not strong enough to do this’. 

‘I didn’t even want to attempt it but somehow I put on my big girl pants and took myself to the next appointment. The first few months were so up and down emotionally – I couldn’t stop crying on the first day of treatment.’ 

Samantha said in 2020 she had a small amount of bleeding during bowel movements – but didn’t think it was anything of concern. At the time it was the start of the pandemic, so seeing a doctor was difficult. 

‘It was on and off for a couple months, and when it finally resolved itself I forgot about it,’ she said.

By the end of 2022 she did say she experienced some pain, bloating and irregular bowel movements. These symptoms are commonly brushed off as stress.

‘At the start of this year I also had the worst pain in my right shoulder – it was excruciating, I was in tears. I went to the doctor who told me to take some Panadol because I may have just pulled a muscle,’ she said.

The pain went away after a week or so, but strangely enough, it turns out the pain was due to the tumours in her liver.

‘After I had my first liver biopsy, the pain in my right shoulder returned and the doctor told me that can happen because there’s a nerve that sits right where your liver is,’ she explained.

‘So if that nerve gets pushed on by something it aggravates the nerve and you feel the pain in your right shoulder, which made it so much sense.’  

Two days after the diagnosis she met with an oncologist and ‘barely remembers the conversation’ because of the hefty life-changing news and balled her eyes out. 

But the oncologist had a plan of attack.

Instead of having surgery first, doctors opted to go with chemotherapy in attempt to shrink the tumours. 

Samantha started treatment on March 31 and she’s been having fortnightly visits ever since. By her sixth chemotherapy session the tumours had shrunk significantly. 

Her last scan at the beginning of October found the colon tumour had ‘collapsed’ – meaning it’s flattened against the wall of the colon.

The tumour in the lung can no longer be measured because it’s now too small and one in the liver is under 2cm while the other is 3cm.

‘So far I’ve had a very positive response to treatment – better than my doctor thought I would have,’ she said. ‘It’s really been a miracle and I’m so glad it’s been working so well.’

Up until a few weeks ago, Samantha thought she was already nine months into those two to three years, but the doctor reassured her it ‘doesn’t quite work like that’.

She explained after every check-up from the scans the clock restarts. The time doesn’t start from the diagnosis, it restarts from the latest scan. 

This news was a sigh of relief for Samantha who feels like she’s been given extra time. 

However, there is still the looming possibility that this could change at any moment. Luckily Samantha is on her first line of treatment options. 

At this stage, she’ll require treatment for the rest of her life because at this stage if doctors stopped treatment the tumours would grow back.

‘My doctor said to me if treatment doesn’t work, you’re looking at less than 12 months. If it does work, I hope to buy you two to three years’, which is obviously not what anyone wants to hear,’ she said.

‘My mum died of breast cancer when I was 10. It started at stage one or two then elevated to stage four. It was very aggressive and moved into her liver, then she really went downhill quick.

‘So I associate cancer in the liver with really bad news because I saw it first hand.’ 

In terms of what caused the cancer, unfortunately it was random and a case of bad luck. There’s nothing Samantha could’ve done different to prevent the tumours from growing.

‘I have surprised myself with the fact that I had [the ability to do this] and push through. I’ve been able to come to terms and accept that I have cancer,’ she continued. 

‘If you had told me last year that I’ll be diagnosed with cancer and that I’m actually going to be fine emotionally, I wouldn’t have believed you. You’ll be surprised what you can do.’ 

Luckily throughout treatment she’s experienced minimal side effects besides fatigue. 

But the immunotherapy treatment left her with an acne-like rash covering her whole body, including her scalp and tongue. 

‘The doctor said my rash was the worst one they’ve seen, but it’s a sign that the treatment is working. So I found comfort in that,’ she said. 

Despite the awful diagnosis and prognosis Samantha’s received, she feels ‘fitter, stronger and better’ than ever before. 

‘One of the girls at work brought it to my attention. She told me, “You have so much more life and vibrancy in you, you seem so much stronger compared to when I first met you when all this started happening”,’ Samantha recalled.

She also feels confident because she has her youth on her side to combat against the deadly cancer and bounce back from treatment quickly.

To keep herself fit and healthy, she goes for 5km walks every day and eats fresh, clean food. 

‘I don’t look like a cancer patient either – you wouldn’t know I’m sick by looking at me,’ she said, adding: ‘I’ve tried to keep life as normal as possible too. 

‘I heard the phrase, “Everyone’s terminal, I just have it in writing” and it really changed my mindset. This is it, this is the life you’ve got and it can change for anyone at any time like it did for me. 

‘Right now, besides the cancer, I’m healthy enough to be able to do things and I maximise on this like you have no idea. 

‘I spend as much time as possible with the people that I love doing the things the I love because I know that’s what matters most. 

‘I don’t want to get to a point when I’m so ill that I’m bedridden and then start to think “why didn’t I do things I enjoy earlier?” I want to make sure I live as fully as possible.’ 

Samantha also urges everyone to advocate for their health and to be in touch with your body to be able to notice any changes. 

‘If something feels off or if you’re not sure, visit a doctor,’ she said.

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