Woman Diagnosed with Terminal Cancer at 25 Says She Had Symptoms for 7 Years, but Never Took Them ‘Seriously’ (Exclusive) 

Kellie Finlayson was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer just three months after welcoming her first child

NEED TO KNOW

• Kellie Finlayson lived with symptoms for nearly seven years before being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer at 25
• After extensive treatment and the cancer spreading to her lungs, the mother of one from Australia continues to manage the disease while raising her daughter, Sophia
• Today, the 30-year-old uses her social media platform to raise awareness and encourage others to take bowel cancer symptoms seriously

Kellie Finlayson had spent years noticing changes in her body, but at 25, the wife of retired Australian Football League star Jeremy Finlayson never imagined they could point to bowel cancer.

For nearly seven years, symptoms including changes in her bowel habits, abdominal discomfort and fluctuating weight were easy to dismiss, particularly while she was young and otherwise fit and healthy. However, three months after giving birth to her daughter, Sophia, in 2021, those symptoms led to a devastating diagnosis: stage 4 bowel cancer.

Looking back, Finlayson tells PEOPLE exclusively that she wishes she had pushed harder for answers. “It’s really hard to navigate what bowel cancer is because it’s so similar to just having a menstrual cycle, so it was really easy to just push it to the side and blame it on something else,” she admits. 

Before her diagnosis, Finlayson had repeatedly experienced problems with her bowel movements, but there was always another explanation that seemed to make sense. When she turned to doctors for answers, she accepted their reassurance rather than demanding deeper investigations.

“[It’s] also my fault because I didn’t take anything seriously, but every time they told me that I was too young, fit and healthy, I took that on board,” Finlayson explains. “I just took the medication and just let them, I guess, tell me what was wrong with my body without actually ever testing anything, which, like I said, again, I didn’t take it seriously, so I didn’t push for answers.”

Instead, she treated the individual symptoms as they appeared, taking laxatives if she was constipated or anti-diarrheal medication if her “bowels were too soft, whatever it was.”

There were other signs, too, including years of weight fluctuations that she never connected to anything more serious. “I’m never stable in weight, which is another big symptom that I just didn’t realize,” Finlayson says. “But yeah, that’s probably the part that … makes me kick myself that I wasn’t more in control of my body or advocating for myself.”

“But again, I was a young 20-year-old-something girl. It’s hard to expect that of myself, but knowing what I know now, God, it would make my life easier,” she adds.

When Finlayson finally underwent testing after giving birth, the diagnosis came rapidly. She was initially told she had stage 3 bowel cancer, before scans within 48 hours showed it had already metastasized, making it stage 4, which she notes is technically terminal.

One longtime friend, who had heard Finlayson talk repeatedly about her bowel habits, was not surprised when the diagnosis came.

“When I was diagnosed, one of the first friends [I told] — she’s quite medically inclined — but she’s known me since I was 15, maybe, and she wasn’t surprised that I got the diagnosis because I’d told her so many times about my poo schedule,” Finlayson recalls.

Finlayson later underwent surgery, including a temporary colostomy, followed by over 80 rounds of intensive chemotherapy and other treatments. At one point, she spent 12 days in intensive care and was barely able to see her newborn daughter or family because of COVID restrictions.

Initially, her treatment appeared successful and by July 2022, scans showed no remaining visible tumours, although microscopic cancer cells remained in seven lymph nodes.

Later that year, however, the cancer returned in Finlayson’s lungs. A new treatment plan followed, including chemotherapy and lung surgery, and her cancer has since been managed with ongoing treatment and regular scans. 

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Today, at 30, Finlayson continues to live with metastatic bowel cancer, with treatment focused on keeping the disease stable while preserving her quality of life.

The experience has also given Finlayson a reason to speak publicly on social media about symptoms she once overlooked. By sharing the less glamorous realities of bowel cancer, Finlayson hopes to help others recognize warning signs sooner and feel comfortable speaking openly about their own bodies and advocating in medical situations.

And while the disease may have changed almost every part of her life, she has learned how to live alongside it and remain present for her daughter.

“I’ve gotten really good at it, which is a weird thing to get good at, but I’m glad I have,” Finlayson tells PEOPLE.

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