Mum-of-two Rebecca, 35, hid her symptoms for TWO years before being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Now she realises just how serious her ‘subtle’ warning signs were

Rebecca Noonan quietly organised her life around toilets for almost two years.

The 35-year-old accountant from Penrith, in Sydney’s west, carefully monitored what she ate before social outings, avoided certain foods at restaurants, and became adept at excusing herself from conversations when her stomach suddenly turned.

To friends and acquaintances, she looked perfectly healthy.

Even when symptoms began to escalate, Rebecca convinced herself there was a logical explanation. As a busy mother of two young children, it was easy to dismiss fatigue and stomach troubles as something less serious.

Looking back now, after being diagnosed with bowel cancer at just 35, she wishes she had realised sooner that what she was experiencing was not normal.

‘My symptoms were really subtle,’ Rebecca told the Daily Mail.

‘I’d think, “my stomach’s a bit upset”, but I could always explain it away. I’d tell myself I’d had too much dairy or too much fatty food.’

Over time, however, those symptoms became increasingly difficult to ignore.

‘The biggest red flag for me was that it wasn’t normal for me two years earlier,’ she said.

One symptom in particular stands out in hindsight.

In November 2023, Rebecca experienced a single episode of rectal bleeding, something that had never happened before.

Alarmed, she went straight to the emergency department where doctors performed blood tests and a CT scan, but everything came back clear.

‘I had no pain and nothing else obvious was going on. The bleeding never happened again, even though I obviously had cancer growing,’ she said.

A few months later, she began experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly after eating.

She visited her GP and underwent further testing.

Doctors considered whether she might have coeliac disease or lactose intolerance. Blood tests showed slightly elevated markers of inflammation, but not enough to raise significant concern.

She was referred to a gastroenterologist, who repeated the tests and reached a similar conclusion.

At one point, attention turned towards her menstrual cycle after symptoms appeared to worsen around ovulation and menstruation.

‘My doctor told me I could have a colonoscopy if I really wanted one, but there wasn’t really a need for it, so I listened and didn’t have one,’ she said.

Meanwhile, Rebecca continued managing symptoms in private.

The reality of bowel issues meant she often felt embarrassed discussing what was happening.

‘No one wants to say, “I’ve got to go to the toilet”,’ she said.

‘My family and close friends knew some of what was going on, but I would hide a lot of it.

‘I’d watch what I was eating when I was out. I’d be really careful because I didn’t want to have to run to the bathroom during dinner or in the middle of a conversation.’

Sometimes she had little warning.

‘I’d be talking to someone and suddenly have to run off,’ she recalled.

‘No one talks about those things, but if people did, more people might realise what they’re experiencing isn’t normal and get checked earlier.’

As the months passed, Rebecca continued searching for answers.

At the beginning of 2025, she changed GPs. The new doctor suspected endometriosis and arranged scans, which confirmed the condition.

An endometriosis specialist subsequently recommended surgery but wanted a colonoscopy performed at the same time as a precaution.

‘A colorectal surgeon said that because of the bleeding I’d experienced a year and a half earlier, I should have a colonoscopy done before surgery,’ Rebecca said.

That recommendation would ultimately save her life.

In November 2025, Rebecca went into hospital expecting treatment for endometriosis.

Instead, she woke from anaesthesia to devastating news: the planned surgery had not gone ahead because doctors had found a tumour during the colonoscopy.

‘They told me they’d found a tumour about the size of a golf ball. They sent it away for biopsy, but already knew it was cancer,’ she said.

What made the moment even more frightening was that she was completely alone.

‘I didn’t have anyone with me,’ Rebecca said.

‘It was pretty awful and really shocking. You’re coming out of anaesthetic and being told the worst news you can imagine.

‘I just remember hearing that I had cancer. At that point we didn’t know how bad it was, and when you hear the word cancer, you think you’re going to die.’

For almost an hour, she sat alone waiting for her family to arrive.

‘I was very scared,’ she said.

Eventually, her husband, mother and two children arrived at the hospital. At the time, her children were just four and six years old.

The following fortnight was filled with scans, blood tests and specialist appointments to determine how advanced the cancer was.

Rebecca knew enough about bowel cancer statistics in younger people to fear the worst.

‘Most people my age don’t find bowel cancer until it’s stage three or stage four. It was really hard to stay positive,’ she said.

Fortunately, the results brought better news than anyone had dared hope for – and doctors determined the cancer had not spread beyond the bowel wall.

In December 2025, Rebecca underwent an extended right hemicolectomy, removing approximately 40 centimetres of her colon and her appendix.

The tumour was ultimately classified as stage 2A bowel cancer. Because it had been caught before spreading elsewhere in the body, she did not require chemotherapy or radiation treatment.

‘I was incredibly fortunate. I’m hoping surgery alone cured my cancer,’ she said.

Subsequent testing revealed she has serrated polyposis syndrome, a condition that causes the body to develop multiple bowel polyps and significantly increases bowel cancer risk.

Doctors believe the condition likely explains why she developed cancer at such a young age.

She now undergoes regular colonoscopies and ongoing surveillance scans, with future testing expected every six to 12 months.

Six months after surgery, Rebecca says she feels healthier than she has in years.

‘I’m running, going to the gym and feeling really fit. I actually feel the best I’ve ever felt,’ she said.

Her children knew she was unwell throughout the process but were never given frightening details.

‘We never hid the word cancer from them, but we never really explained what cancer meant,’ she said.

‘We told them there was something in mummy’s tummy that the doctors needed to fix.’

Now aged five and seven, they have developed an unexpectedly positive relationship with hospitals and healthcare workers.

‘They’re not scared of hospitals anymore – they know doctors help people,’ Rebecca said.

One day, however, there will be a much bigger conversation. Because of her diagnosis, her children will eventually need earlier screening themselves.

Today, Rebecca is passionate about encouraging others not to ignore subtle symptoms or explain away changes in their body.

She believes the embarrassment surrounding bowel health prevents many people from seeking help early enough.

‘I think it’s really important to know what’s normal for you. I have endometriosis, so there were symptoms I could easily blame on that,’ she said.

‘But just because you have another condition doesn’t mean every symptom should automatically be put down to it.’

She is particularly passionate about raising awareness that bowel cancer can affect younger adults.

‘My symptoms were so subtle over two years that I could have dismissed them for even longer,’ she said.

‘Blood in your stool, fatigue, weight loss, changes in your bowel habits – they’re all things people should know about.

‘And honestly, a colonoscopy is really not that scary.’

Bowel cancer symptoms to know

According to Bowel Cancer Australia, common symptoms of bowel cancer can include blood in the stool, rectal bleeding, persistent changes in bowel habits, diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal pain, bloating, unexplained fatigue, anaemia, weight loss, mucus in the stool, or a feeling that the bowel has not emptied completely.

While many of these symptoms can be caused by less serious conditions, experts recommend seeking medical advice if symptoms persist or if you notice blood in your stool at any time.