Tugun local welcomes lowering of free bowel cancer screening eligibility to 45

Tugun’s Marlis Dendy has spent the past three years in the battle of her life.

And while she’s clearly taking the upper hand, the engaging 51-year-old hopes she’s one of the last of her generation to rely on gut instinct when they suspect something is wrong with their body.

“I was in my late 40s and I felt like there was something not right,” Marlis said.

“I’d been experiencing pain the rectal area and I started seeing a doctor who diagnosed me with digestive issues, haemorrhoids and constipation over a period of about 18 months.

“I was typically a very active person, but that Easter I spent four days laying down and I didn’t get up.

“My lower back pain started to get severe with something pushing against a nerve and that’s when I knew something was very wrong,” she said.

That’s when Marlis saw another doctor who straight away referred her to a colonoscopy that confirmed a significant tumour in the bowel which further tests showed had spread to her lungs and liver.

And it wasn’t for lack of general fitness.

She was training four or five times a week to compete in CrossFit competition, she surfed most days and did plenty of walking and running.

All that while managing her own successful brand development, graphic design and marketing communications company Pollen Design which she’s put body and soul into building over the past two decades.

Busy is an understatement as she serves a diverse top-end client list from wine brands to lawyers, cosmetic companies and hospitality and everything in between.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) bowel cancer was estimated to be the second leading cause of cancer death in Australia in 2023 but, they say, it’s one of the most treatable types of cancer when detected early.

And Marlis speaks from a position of personal experience when she says the recent decision by the Australian Government to lower the eligibility age for participation in the free National Bowel Screening Program from 50 to 45 is set to save countless lives.

“Lowering the screening age to 45 years will help pick up bowel cancer earlier.

“That’s precisely the age group I was in when I was relying on my own instincts to tell me that something was wrong.

“If I had tested from 45, and had that early diagnosis, I might be living a very different story right now,” she said.

Marlis says life of late has been a rollercoaster, but she’s giving it her all with a contagious positivity.

“There’s much to look forward to.

“I’ve been rid of it completely twice after nine rounds of chemotherapy, 25 rounds of radiation, I went to Mexico for a three-week treatment and I undertook an immunotherapy drug trial with Tasman Health Care.

“Right now it is very stable in my bowel, very stable in my liver and my lungs are the only place that it has come back, so the next step is another immunotherapy drug trial, and we’ll see how that goes,” she said.

Marlis said the support of family and friends, particularly her parents and children, has been uplifting.

“Jackson (12) and Ruby (14) keep me very active, and mum and dad moved down from Airlie Beach when I was diagnosed, so that was lovely, and I’ve got all my friends from my old gym (CrossFit Narlie at Currumbin) and plenty of friends outside of the gym.

“I have so much lovely support and honestly, when I was diagnosed, people just came out of the woodwork to help.

“And as strange as it sounds, so many wonderful things have come out of this journey for me.

“As a single mother I’ve done a lot of things on my own, and I’m not complaining about that, but the support has been amazing, and I know I’m not doing any of this alone,” she said.

Looking forward, and with more people now having access to the bowel screening program, Marlis’s message is simple.

“Do the bowel screening test when it’s posted to you or take the initiative and go and get tests done if you’re not feeling right.

“Take autonomy over your own health journey and if you feel there’s something wrong, don’t stop until you get it sorted.

“It’s impossible to state how important your health is, and the big lesson I’ve learned in all of this is to listen to your body,” she said.