An Australian mother was just 35 years old when a series of “strange” symptoms landed her in hospital. It took several visits before a doctor finally took her seriously.
Gemma Farquhar, from Sydney, suffered for months of unexplained bowel movements and vomiting, and was misdiagnosed by four different doctors with stomach infections, parasites, gluten intolerance, and irritable bowel syndrome.
It was only after she fought back and pushed for a CT scan that she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer and given 12 months to live.
Now, five years later and two weeks after turning 40, Gemma shares the obvious signs that doctors missed and how she managed to survive against all the odds.
The mother of two was enjoying pizza on a Friday night in January 2020 when she noticed something was wrong.
Gemma Farquhar, who lives in Sydney with her family, was just 35 years old when she was diagnosed with bowel cancer in April 2020.
It was only after she fought back and pushed for a CT scan that she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer and given 12 months to live.
‘A few hours after eating, my belly was rumbling out of control. I had to run to the bathroom at 2 in the morning and started vomiting violently at the same time,” he told FEMAIL.
In March the same thing happened again. Gemma felt “perfectly normal” after the ordeal, but her gut told her something was wrong.
“I contacted the local doctor, but he simply told me there was nothing to worry about, it was just a stomach bug,” he explained.
On April 23, Gemma was out for a walk with a friend when she started getting stomach cramps.
‘I was not satisfied and asked for a blood test and a referral to a gastroenterologist and an allergist.
“The allergist confirmed that I had no allergy and the gastroenterologist said that I probably had some digestion problems, so they prescribed me herbal medicines.”
The specialist also sent Gemma for further blood tests and requested a stool sample, which was inconclusive.
‘A few weeks after doing the tests, my stomach made very loud noises and sometimes I felt a little crampy. I also felt bloated. This went on for about two weeks,” she said.
‘I called my GP to inform him of my results, but he said they all looked fine; A couple things were raised, but they just told me to talk to the gastroenterologist. She thought it might be constipation, so she prescribed me medication for that.
On April 23, Gemma was out for a walk with a friend when she started to feel stomach cramps. As night fell her cramps became more intense, she lost her appetite and began to vomit violently.
“First thing the next morning I called my gastroenterologist,” he said.
“After talking to her, she immediately asked me to do more blood work, get a CT scan, and take some antibiotics if I had a parasite.”
Gemma revealed her doctors weren’t looking for bowel cancer because she was only 35 and had no history of the disease in her family.
Gemma was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer after emergency surgery.
Within an hour, a doctor called Gemma and explained that she needed to go to hospital immediately, as they had detected colorectal cancer and a blockage in her intestine.
She revealed that her doctors were not looking for bowel cancer because she was only 35 and had no history of the disease in her family.
“I went into a state of shock and disbelief. After a restless night and not being able to eat or drink anything due to the pending surgery, I woke up on April 25 and was wheeled into the operating room. I was crying and terrified,” she recalled.
Gemma was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer after emergency surgery, but doctors noticed the cancer spread to her ovaries during chemotherapy, immediately taking her to stage four.
‘They found a 13 cm tumor in my ovary. “We then changed the treatment plan to be more aggressive: I received intensive chemotherapy and was scheduled to have a peritonectomy plus HIPEC in September,” he said.
Peritonectomy is sometimes called the “mother of all surgeries” because doctors cut the patient in half, remove certain cancer-ridden organs, and apply “hot chemotherapy” to the patient’s abdomen.
“In surgery they removed my peritoneum, omentum, appendix, 20 cm of intestine and I underwent a complete radical hysterectomy, so they also removed my uterus, tubes, cervix and both ovaries,” she said.
Gem She was unable to walk until the third day, when she took “just one step” and was unable to eat or drink on her own.
After “the mother of all surgeries” and chemotherapy to kill the cancer, it has now spread to her lungs, leaving the young mother with a 14 per cent chance of survival.
According to Bowel Cancer Australia, there is a 14 per cent survival rate for those diagnosed at stage four.
“I try not to look at the statistics and have a great team of medical professionals around me that I trust to keep me going,” Gemma said.
But the nightmare was not over: in December 2021, doctors found three dangerous tumors in Gemma’s right lung.
“My doctors thought the tumors were in my lungs all along, but they didn’t detect them on scans because they are so small,” she said.
“It was difficult: all the trauma came back quickly.”
Gemma was in shock because she had done everything right: she had chemotherapy, surgery, she took all her medications, but it still wasn’t enough.
‘I had to build myself from nothing. I had to relearn how to exercise, how to walk down the street. And then finding out that she was back…it takes you to a dark place,” she said.
Despite that, Gemma felt she was better equipped to deal with cancer this time because she had already been through it once.
In December 2021, doctors found three dangerous tumors in Gemma’s right lung.
Gemma follows a treatment that consists of an infusion every fifteen days and four tablets a day.
The medication Gemma is currently taking was not on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) when she was first prescribed it, and she had to pay $6,472 out of pocket for the first month, after which it was subsidized.
He is undergoing treatment that consists of an infusion every fifteen days and four tablets a day.
“When I started treatment two years ago, doctors told me I would become resistant to the drugs within four months, which turned out to be false,” he said.
‘I’ve been taking them for two years and I’m still going strong. There are no other treatment options at this time, so I’m grateful the medication has continued to work for me.’
The mother shared that she was grateful to have access to life-saving medications and a team of dedicated doctors.
“My kids were four and five when I was first diagnosed and I didn’t think I would reach the next milestone for them,” she said.
“It’s really important to advocate for yourself, question doctors and read everything you can.”
In addition to fortnightly infusions and daily tablets, Gemma also undergoes scans every three months of her chest, abdomen and pelvis.
‘I feel grateful to have seen my daughters grow up. “When I was first diagnosed, I never thought I would see my daughter’s 10th birthday and I just celebrated it with her,” he said.
Gemma uses her online diary @havingthegutstodealwithbadsh*t to help others diagnosed with cancer maintain positivity and perspective.