My doctor sent me home with painkillers and told me I had ‘nothing to worry about’. Then I was handed a devastating diagnosis at just 36

When Kelly O’Donnell couldn’t shake off the fatigue, she figured motherhood had simply taken its toll.

Having recently given birth to her baby daughter, the Queensland nurse was enjoying what seemed to be a normal life with her family – until she suddenly fell seriously ill.

The mum went from being ‘healthy, active and full of energy’ to struggling with unexplained weight loss, constipation and a lack of appetite.

Her doctor initially attributed the symptoms to hemorrhoids or IBS, referring her for a colonoscopy, but she was placed on a long waitlist. 

As the months passed, Kelly noticed she wasn’t getting any better. She was in such excruciating pain that she couldn’t stand for more than five minutes, but her concerns were dismissed. 

Her GP reassured her there was nothing to worry about, insisting she was ‘too young’ to have cancer, and sent her home with painkillers.

Kelly knew something was seriously wrong when she began bleeding heavily from her rectum so she was taken to hospital for an emergency colonoscopy.

A week later, Kelly was given a soul-crushing diagnosis that blindsided her: stage four bowel cancer that had already spread to her liver.

‘I received the worst news of my life… As you can imagine, I was shocked beyond belief,’ Kelly, now 37, told FEMAIL.

Doting mum Kelly O’Donnell received a soul-crushing stage four bowel cancer diagnosis

Before her shock diagnosis, she was enjoying motherhood after welcoming her first child with her partner, who’s already a dad to two boys, aged seven and 10. 

‘The kids are my universe,’ Kelly said.

Kelly had always done everything right to stay on top of her health as she was getting regular scans and check-ups due to her endometriosis and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). 

‘Apart from endo and PCOS, I’ve always been quite healthy so I would only go to the GP if I needed to but I saw a gynaecologist twice a year for probably six years pre-birth,’ she explained.

‘After I had my daughter, I didn’t see a doctor for a good 12 months until I started to become symptomatic.’

The mum began noticing subtle signs – including extreme tiredness and a lack of energy for no apparent reason. 

‘I assumed child birth had knocked me around a bit and perhaps my gut health wasn’t great so I was seeing a naturopath to try and get back on track,’ Kelly said.

‘However I continued to deteriorate over the next 12 months – I lost 10kg, which is a lot for someone who’s petite and never been over 50kg.

‘I was struggling to eat and keep food down and was very constipated.’

Her doctor assumed she had constipation so he arranged blood tests, as well as requesting a referral for a colonoscopy in November 2023.

Due to long wait times in the public health system, Kelly carried on with her life in the meantime.

The mum went from being ‘healthy, active and full of energy’ to struggling with unexplained weight loss , constipation and a lack of appetite

The nurse was enjoying what seemed to be a normal life with her family – until she fell seriously ill (pictured with her partner, two stepsons, aged seven and 10, and three-year-old daughter)

However, months later, she was still feeling unwell.

‘My GP told me that he didn’t think it was cancer as I told him I was worried about that but he reiterated that I was too young and it was most likely something else,’ she said.

‘Then the pain started and I got to a point where I was struggling to stand for longer than five minutes.’

Her doctor instructed her to go to a hospital if her symptoms worsened, then sent her home with strong painkillers.

Six months later, in early May 2024, the mum noticed blood coming from her rectum while in the bathroom.

Kelly went to the Emergency Room, but despite the urgency, she didn’t receive a colonoscopy until 10 days later. 

By the time she was getting the procedure, the mum said she had a gut feeling that something was ‘seriously wrong’. 

‘Nine minutes into my colonoscopy, they told me they found a tumour in my anal passage,’ Kelly said. 

‘The doctor who performed the colonoscopy said it didn’t look good and from his experience it looked cancerous but we would have to wait and see what the biopsy results showed.’

The mum noticed she started to deteriorate over the next 12 months – losing a dramatic 10kg

Just 12 months after her daughter was born, she started feeling extremely tired for no reason

A week later, she returned to the hospital to discuss her results.  

‘It was then that I received the worst news of my life, I had stage four bowel cancer, which had spread to my liver,’ Kelly said. 

‘My liver was covered in tumours much to my horror… I had no idea anything was wrong with my liver.’

When she met with her oncologist, he asked her if she wanted to know her prognosis.

‘I declined because regardless of what his opinion was, I wasn’t going to die, not for a long time,’ she explained. 

‘I would fight it with everything I had, I’d fight this horrible disease and I would do that through both medical and alternative therapies.’

After her first round of chemotherapy, Kelly received good news – her tumours were shrinking. 

But after completing 12 weeks of treatment, she was told the chemotherapy hadn’t worked after all.

‘This time the chemo didn’t have the desired effect unfortunately,’ she said. 

After the first round of chemotherapy, Kelly received good news – her tumours were shrinking. But after completing 12 weeks of treatment, she was told the chemo hadn’t worked after all

Signs and symptoms of bowel cancer

Blood in your poo

Obvious change in your bowel habit

Weight loss you can’t explain

Extreme tiredness for no reason

Lump or swelling in your abdomen

‘A few weeks after chemo, I started to get severe lower back pain which got worse every day until I presented at hospital with 11/10 pain and was unable to stand or walk.

‘Recent scans I’d had showed a lesion on my sacrum (tail bone) which was pushing on my nerves and spine, I was pretty deflated but my oncology team assured me five days of radiation would alleviate my pain so I did that.’

The mum completed radiation just four weeks ago. 

‘Unfortunately I had an adverse reaction to the radiation and needed to be hospitalised due to numbness and tingling down my right side and severe pain,’ she said.

‘My pain is currently being managed and we are waiting to discuss further.’

Kelly said she’s now following a new naturopathic regime, taking 19 different vitamins and herbs, along with three supplements and seven pharmaceutical medications every day. 

‘It’s expensive but when it comes to your health, you can’t really put a price on it,’ she said.

‘This has been the hardest journey of my life, every day is different for me – some days I’m happy and positive, other days my mental health suffers greatly but I refuse to give up, I have too much to live for.’

Kind-hearted friends, family and even strangers have rallied around the mum to help raise money for her expensive medical treatments and consultations

Kind-hearted friends, family and even strangers have rallied around the mum to help raise money for her expensive medical treatments and consultations – after her ‘world was turned upside down’ by the soul-crushing stage four cancer diagnosis. 

‘Kelly is not just a mother; she is the heart and soul of her family. She is a devoted birth mother, a caring stepmother to two beautiful children, and a loving partner to her significant other,’ her friend Renee wrote on the GoFundMe page she set up. 

‘Her resilient spirit and unwavering dedication to her family are truly inspiring. Now, as she faces the toughest battle of her life, Kelly needs our help more than ever.

‘Kelly’s battle is not just against cancer but also a fight to maintain a sense of normalcy and stability for her children. 

‘Your support can help lift a tremendous weight off their shoulders, allowing them to focus on what truly matters – spending precious time together as a family and fighting this illness with all their strength.’

Kelly wants to break the stigma that cancer only affects older people.

‘Since my diagnosis, I have learnt that bowel cancer in my age group (30-39) has increased by 209 per cent in two decades so the stigma attached needs to be stopped,’ she said. 

‘More awareness and further early testing needs to be implemented. This could save the lives of so many people.’

By sharing her story, the mum hopes to encourage Aussies to get checked – no matter how minor their symptoms may seem

By sharing her story, she hopes to encourage Aussies to get checked – no matter how minor their symptoms may seem.

‘I think the biggest lesson I’ve learnt is to always listen to your intuition and if you feel like something is wrong with your body, chances are there is,’ she said.

‘I just hope my story can help some people out there. If your doctor fobs you off, get a second or even a third opinion if you have to. 

‘No doctor knows your body quite like you do. Your health is so important.’

According to Bowel Cancer Australia, bowel cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second deadliest in the country. 

Each year, it’s estimated more than 14,500 Aussies are diagnosed with bowel cancer – making it the seventh leading cause of death among people aged 25 to 44.

If detected early, the chance of successful treatment and long-term survival improves significantly. Up to 99 per cent of cases can be treated successfully when detected in the earliest stage.

However, not all bowel cancers show symptoms.

But common signs include abdominal pain or bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, unexplained weight loss, tiredness, weakness or breathlessness.

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