Gold Coast bowel cancer survivor Elle urges new mums to listen to their bodies

A little over a year ago Broadbeach mum Elle Howard was feeling burnt out.

The then-32-year-old lawyer put it all down to sleep deprivation, some post-partum blues, the weight gain from pregnancies and the stress of returning to work with two children under the age of two at home.

So, she decided to do something about it.

“At the beginning of last year I committed to my new year’s resolution and went on a diet because I wanted to see a change, and it was working for a while and I lost a lot of weight,” Elle said.

“But in the middle of April I started getting stomach pains every time I ate; I felt gassy, my stomach was very acidic and I was getting a lot of reflux.

“I was put on gastritis medication and as much as I wanted to trust it, after a couple of weeks I wasn’t getting any better

“I was sent for an ultrasound and blood tests, and while I was waiting for the results to be processed, I had excruciating stomach pains one night after dinner.

“I thought it was food poisoning, but by morning it was worse than any kind of food poisoning I’d ever had, so I checked myself into the hospital emergency department, and that’s when they found it,” she said.

The ‘it’ was a bowel obstruction and an aggressive stage 4 tumour that had already spread from Elle’s spleen to her liver.

“When they showed me the CT scan my whole midsection was lit up like the Fourth of July.

“I’ll never forget the emergency doctor’s face when she had to tell me that I had bowel cancer; I think about her often and what a horrible job that must have been for her that day,” she said.
According to Bowel Cancer Australia the lives of 5,350 Australians are claimed by the disease every year.

But, they say, it’s one of the most treatable types of cancer when detected early.

While the risk of bowel cancer increases significantly with age, the disease doesn’t discriminate, and it surprises many to know it’s Australia’s deadliest cancer for people aged 25-44.

And bowel cancer is known as a silent killer because it can be present with no symptoms.

“For me, from feeling not right to diagnosis was two and a half weeks, but my oncologists told me it could have been there a couple of years before we discovered something was wrong,” Elle said.

“My doctors and I realised there was no time to waste so I immediately underwent six months of chemotherapy.

“I had the most wonderful, caring experience at Icon Cancer Centre, and I can’t speak highly enough of the nurses and doctors who took care of me there.

“I literally owe them my life.

“In hindsight, I think being a young mum could have masked some of the symptoms – the tiredness, the exhaustion, all those things that could be put down to the life of a mother with two young children,” she said.

Fast forward to right before last Christmas when Elle received the best present ever in the news her cancer was 95% gone.

Today her treatment is still going well, and she lives each day with a smile and the confidence her story is far from over.

She continues to practise as a lawyer and director at Astills Lawyers in Surfers Paradise and enjoys the love and support of her chiropractor husband of eight years Marc, and her children Harper (4) and Pax (2).

And Elle has the help of her parents who drive from the Sunshine Coast each week to help with the mid-week childminding and the family’s everyday routine of juggling cancer treatment, work and parenting.

“I have the most unbelievable family and support network of friends and loved ones, who lift me up and carry me through every single day of this new reality,” Elle said.

“My message to everyone is to listen to your body and don’t shy from getting things checked out properly.

“I know I am too young for this, I haven’t lived my full life and done everything I need to yet, but I’m doing absolutely everything to make sure I am here for as long as I can be.

“My one piece of advice for others, for any mother reading this who has had a symptom or two but may be swimming upstream in postpartum life, I see and hear you.

“Ask your GP for a colonoscopy referral.

“Even if they find nothing, you’ll have peace of mind for your family, and a well-deserved nap during the colonoscopy,” she smiled.

www.gcphn.org.au

www.bowelcanceraustralia.org