‘I thought it was nothing serious’: A Canberra mum’s bowel cancer warning
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Before she was diagnosed with young-onset bowel cancer, 36-year-old Canberra mum Grace Keyworth dismissed her symptoms as “nothing serious”.
Now, after a Stage 4 diagnosis, surgery and 12 rounds of chemotherapy, she’s decided to share her story – and the signs she wishes she hadn’t ignored.
It’s a weird feeling, having the same disease as a famous person who has just died from it. I’m devastated, of course, for Mel Schilling and the people who loved her. This week I’ve seen the photos of Mel and her young daughter shared on social media and wept, thinking of my own three-year-old girl Annabelle.
I desperately hope she and my beautiful husband Brett don’t have to say goodbye to me for many more years. I’m worried about my future, while also being grateful I’m still here and wanting to make the most of it.
This morning, I left the medical imaging centre, where the MRI machine whirred, banged, and beeped for 40 minutes, searching for any signs of bowel cancer still in my body. I lay still, anxiously trying to make sure the pictures will be as clear as possible.
Bowel cancer is now the deadliest cancer for Australians aged between 25 and 50. My tumour grew to 14cm and perforated my bowel before it was discovered in July 2025, a week after my 36th birthday.
I went to Canberra Hospital ED in excruciating pain, and a CT scan showed my bowel was in trouble with a huge infection and a worrying patch that doctors needed more information about. A colonoscopy a few days later confirmed my worst nightmare: a large tumour was found, and it was undeniably cancerous.
In the nine months since diagnosis, I’ve endured 12 rounds of chemotherapy, survived emergency bowel surgery and had multiple scary hospital stays for various cancer and chemo-induced complications. I lost most of my hair and now live with a colostomy bag, which has brought its own set of stinky challenges.
I’m now an expert at horizontal parenting (lying on the couch with chemo fatigue and nausea while trying to entertain my daughter) and we have watched more Disney movies than I ever planned to. It’s been tough on my whole family, but my treatment has been effective, and I’m hopeful for positive news in my scan results appointment next week.
Grace with her family.
Bowel cancer is no longer considered an ‘old person’s disease’. Rates of bowel cancer in people under 50 have tripled in recent decades. Now 12 per cent of new bowel cancer diagnoses are in people aged under 50. Many of these people are being diagnosed with advanced cancer, like I was, as symptoms overlap with other more common conditions, like irritable bowel syndrome and gynaecological issues for women.
They say that hindsight is 20/20, and here are the signs I dismissed as ‘nothing serious’ in the months before my diagnosis. If I had taken them seriously, I may not have needed such intensive treatment and caught the tumour before it had spread.
Digestion troubles
In 2025, at least once a month after a large meal, my tummy would be crampy and painful and my trips to the toilet were more frequent; the next day I would feel fine again. ‘Stop over-eating and cut back on carbs’, I told myself.
The weekend before I landed in hospital, I vomited after my birthday lunch of a big cheeseboard and seafood. I put that down to eating too much cheese or having a bad oyster. That week I was constantly running to the loo, and I thought it was food poisoning or a childcare virus that had made its way home with my daughter. It was only when I got a high fever and my pain escalated, that I decided it was time to go to the hospital, still thinking it was a just a bad case of gastro.
Tiredness and fatigue
I had a toddler and a very busy job in the lead-up to the diagnosis. I’d get home from work, exhausted. I would push through the dinner, bath, bed routine and go to sleep at the same time as my daughter most nights. I slept between eight to 10 hours most nights and still woke up tired in the morning. I started having an extra coffee in the morning to perk myself up. ‘Find me a working mum of a toddler who isn’t tired’, I told myself.
Abdominal and back pain
I had been suffering from back pain for six months prior to my diagnosis. I’d had bone scans, MRIs and had seen specialist doctors. The scans found I do have degeneration in my lower spine, but my tumour was found on my left side, where most of my pain was. Since treatment, my back pain has significantly reduced. I also had abdominal pain and talked to my GP about it. I had a pelvic ultrasound that didn’t show anything of concern, and I had booked a colonoscopy for the end of July. I ended up in ED before that could take place.
I am now a member of a Bowel Cancer Australia Facebook group where I’ve connected with other young people like me facing an uncertain future with bowel cancer. We all have similar stories of wishing we knew the signs to look for and pushed for earlier testing from our healthcare teams. You’re never too young to have bowel cancer.
Bowel Cancer Australia has a comprehensive list of symptoms to be aware of online. If sharing my story helps just one person book that GP appointment and talking about symptoms they’ve been putting off, it will have been worth it.
Do it for Mel, do it for me, but most importantly, do it for yourself and your loved ones.
Feature image: Grace with daughter Annabelle, July 2025. Photo by Days of Being.
