I thought bowel cancer was a 'geriatric disease' – then my sister and I got it in our 30s. These are the symptoms we wish we knew

A young Australian woman suffered from bowel problems for months before discovering she had stage three bowel cancer.

Elise Stapleton considered bowel cancer a 'disease of the elderly' before both she and her sister, in their mid-30s, were diagnosed within two years of each other.

The 37-year-old initially thought her symptoms, which included abdominal pain and diarrhea, were related to the endometriosis she had struggled with for years.

However, a pelvic scan revealed a large mass in her intestines and the following months were filled with multiple surgeries and heavy chemotherapy treatments.

But while it was a painful and challenging time for Elise, her cancer journey wasn't all dark. She hid a romantic secret from her family after meeting a man on Hinge who supported her from a distance during treatment.

In March 2021, Elise's 39-year-old sister Lana was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, so her family quickly got checked for the disease.

Elise's tests were normal and no genetic links were found.

So when Elise started experiencing symptoms less than a year later, she never suspected cancer.

'I had very sporadic abdominal pain, especially on my left side, small intestines and diarrhea. “I was going to the toilet all the time and was a bit tired, but nowadays everyone feels tired,” she said.

She suspected it was her endometriosis 'flaring up' as the symptoms were very similar, so she waited three months before finally visiting her gynecologist in October 2022.

The doctor recommended a pelvic scan to see what was going on with her endometriosis, but a lesion was noticed in her bowel.

'At that moment my heart stopped. “I thought, 'Oh my God, it's cancer,' because no one wants to hear the word 'lesion,'” she said.

Given her sister's history, Elise said her gynecologist 'wasn't messing around' and quickly brought on more specialists and carried out further tests and scans.

“Luckily the MRI and CT (scans) came back saying there was no suspicion of malignancy,” Elise recalls.

Elise's gynecologist and colorectal surgeon determined that the lesion was likely her endometriosis, which caused the uterine lining to grow on her intestines, so she had to undergo a laparoscopy to remove it.

'I was planning to start a family and they said I had to be fit to be a mother, so let's do the endo operation. I went for my fourth laparoscopy,” she said.

But surgeons weren't sure what they were going for. Elise would need a small hole procedure or full abdominal surgery if they discovered the mass was more serious.

“My sister dropped me off and I packed a bag for the night and said, 'I'll see you all tomorrow,'” Elise recalled.

“It was probably better to go into the operation with that position, but it led to the biggest shock of my life when they woke me up.”

Elise knew something was wrong when she came out of anesthesia and saw her surgeon and two nurses at the foot of her bed.

“I've had a few surgeries knowing you just have that one nurse next to you. I looked at my surgeon and said, “Something is wrong,” she said.

The surgeon broke the news that they had found a growth and was '99 percent certain' it was colon cancer, even though they had to wait for confirmation of the pathology results.

'I believed in the misconception that colon cancer is a disease of the elderly, but that is really not the case. My sister opened my eyes a little bit, but then I thought it wouldn't happen to me,” Elise said.

'It came as a complete shock. My world was turned upside down that day.'

Just a few weeks after recovering from her surgery, Elise returned to the hospital for another procedure that removed 12 inches of her intestine, as well as some lymph nodes where the cancer had spread.

'It takes a while for your intestines to get going again. It stops your bowel function, I had an enema, I couldn't open my bowels and then it's the opposite, I was constipated for a week, I needed laxatives in the hospital,” she said.

“They cut off that flow of everything and you're on a soft diet, you can't really eat. There were a lot of changes going on in my body. However, the body is an amazing thing, it is very resilient.”

Elise then underwent six rounds of chemotherapy over a grueling three months.

“It was quite devastating to have to go through what I went through, I wouldn't wish it on anyone,” she said.

Elise's family was by her side as she underwent surgeries and chemotherapy, but she hid one detail of her life from them: that she had met a man.

Before her first surgery and diagnosis and despite her health problems, she was still swiping on the dating app Hinge and matched with a man named Kieran.

The pair started chatting and went on a few dates where they hit it off.

“I had kind of given up on men and thought, 'This isn't going to happen,' but then he completely blew me out of the water,” she said.

'We had a very good connection and then we kept in touch through phone calls and messages. He went to Hawaii and was there at the time of my surgery.

'I didn't tell him all the details at the start. I was actually saying that I have some women's issues that I want to take care of.'

Elise thought Kieran would 'run for the hills' if he discovered the full extent of her health problems, but he was unperturbed.

'He said, “I'm so sorry, I'm letting you be with your family, but when you're ready, I'd still like to catch up with you.” “He wasn't in my face, but he gave me space,” she said.

'I didn't tell anyone, then one of my sisters said to me, “You seem to be coping really well,” and I said, “I'm a bit distracted, there's a man.” It's almost like he helped me get through it.”

Elise and Kieran stayed in touch until she finished chemotherapy in June 2023.

“Three months later I had my first full body scan and blood test and it came back – they don't say it was cancer free, but – without any evidence of disease,” Elise said.

The good news gave Elise and Kieran the chance to date normally and they soon realized they were in love.

He took her completely by surprise when he proposed in front of her family on Christmas Day after asking her parents for permission.

The couple is blissfully engaged and making plans to get married in November 2025 and Elise is feeling healthy again.

She is using her experience to raise awareness that bowel cancer can affect young Australians.

“The number of cases of early-onset bowel cancer is really increasing and it is becoming more common in younger people,” she said.

'Don't dismiss your symptoms, get tested. If you have any doubts, go to your doctor. Early detection of colon cancer can save lives.'

According to Bowel cancer Australiathe disease is the deadliest cancer for Australians aged 25 to 44.

The organization has teamed up with Melbourne food designer Ryan L Foote to launch a limited-edition rangeIrregular chocolates'.

Each chocolate reflects a specific symptom to help raise awareness of early stage bowel cancer.

Each box contains four chocolate varieties: jammy, which represents blood in your poop, sticky, for a noticeable change in your bowel movements, fluffy for weight loss you can't explain and chunks, for a lump or swelling in your stomach.

Melbourne chocolate lovers can pick up a free box at Ryan L Foote Studio in Clifton Hill until Sunday, February 18 between 9am and 5pm, or while supplies last.