Kerrie's Bowel Cancer Story

In late 2020, Kerrie Kennedy from Dublin, began experiencing pain in her abdomen and her bowel habits changed. “The pain was getting worse and my then partner, now husband Thomas, told me I should go the doctor. But this was during Covid, and the last thing I wanted to do was go the hospital with something not that serious. Eventually, he convinced me to go to A&E and I did that New Year’s Eve 2020.”

That began a period over many months where Kerrie was in and out of hospital. “I was in and out, and they thought I had appendicitis. I would be in for weeks at a time because the pain was severe and they were treating me with antibiotics. Eventually, I was told they needed to remove my appendix. I was in for surgery, they actually opened me up but afterwards, when I woke up, I was told my appendix was knotted and they couldn’t do the surgery. They put me back on antibiotics.”

In August 2021, Kerrie found out she was pregnant. “We were trying for a baby and I was delighted when I found out we were pregnant. I got a severe pain in my stomach, and we went to the Rotunda. When they done an early pregnancy scan, I don’t know what they spotted but they spotted something. I was sent straight from the Rotunda back to James’s. I was told they’d need to do a colonoscopy. I remember needing time and just saying to the doctors could I go home and have some privacy to get over the miscarriage. To this day, I think that baby we lost was sent to save me. We unfortunately lost the baby, but it was through that visit to the Rotunda that my bowel cancer journey began.”

Within three weeks, Kerrie had her colonoscopy and by the end of October, she was informed she had bowel cancer. “I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I got the news and I was devastated but I was also angry. I had symptoms for nearly a year and I went to the hospital and said, ‘there’s something wrong here’. They kept me in for weeks at a time and yet I had this prolonged and delayed diagnosis. I was told I needed surgery and I didn’t have much time to think about it all – you’re straight in and your treatment journey begins.”

Kerrie’s surgery involved the removal of a large part of her colon and her appendix was removed too. “I didn’t require a stoma bag and I recovered from that surgery quicker than I thought. I just remember the sense of relief to finally be on a treatment pathway because I had spent so long not knowing what was wrong. We postponed the beginning of my chemotherapy so we could do fertility preservation. Then the first of my chemo began. It wasn’t the worst at the beginning. Then we moved on to a stronger chemo and this was much more difficult for me. My sister Lisa has been there every step of the way and when I have found the information overload overwhelming, she has been my go to person keeping an eye on side effects and helping me through. My best friend Christina has also been my rock driving me to every appointment. Thomas my husband, and all my friends and family have been an amazing support and helped me through everything.” 

Throughout her cancer experience, the cost of cancer has been very challenging for Kerrie and her husband. “Managing financially has been one of the hardest things about my cancer. We have a mortgage and we were both working hard to make those repayments. Then all of a sudden I can’t work. I’ve worked all my life since the age of 16 in retail. I’ve never engaged with the state for welfare supports and then I’m living off sick pay and we have to negotiate a pause and then a reduction in our mortgage repayments. Thankfully, the fund in charge of our mortgage has been very understanding but every three months we still have to fill out forms to say ‘yes, I’m still sick’ and ‘yes, we need to pay a reduced amount’. It’s in the back of your mind. You’re asking yourself how long that can go on.”

After two rounds of chemotherapy, Kerrie was told her cancer had unfortunately spread to her liver and further scans revealed it had spread to a lymph node outside the liver. “Hearing the news that my cancer is incurable was very hard. I didn’t really want to participate but my family wanted to talk to my medical team about my life expectancy. I can’t really describe it. It’s really hard to be in a room to hear people talk about you like you’re not there and life after you. Me and Thomas got married last year – we actually brought the date forward in case I didn’t make it that far. But I’m still here and plan to be for as long as I can.”

On compassionate grounds, Kerrie was eventually approved for immunotherapy treatment – a type of cancer treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer – in December 2022 which began in January 2023. “We had incredible support from my medical team. I want to thank Mr. Larkin and Prof. Gallagher for all their support. They’re the reason I’m still here. Prof. Gallagher in particular really fought with us to get the immunotherapy. I’ve been on immunotherapy now over two years. And in my latest scans from December 2024, I’m told the cancer is stable and has stopped growing. The cancer on my lymph node outside the liver has actually shown a slight reduction.”

In recent weeks, Kerrie has taken the decision to tell her nine-year-old stepdaughter of her cancer diagnosis. “I spoke with her mam and told her of my cancer. I wanted to get her permission first before telling her daughter. kind of had this guilt about lying to her. When I’m drained and can’t find the energy to play or have fun, I didn’t want her to think she done anything wrong. I feared she was too young to understand, but even when I told her, she was like ‘I already knew’.

The mental toll of her treatment and prognosis has been very challenging for Kerrie. “Facing the reality of treatment for life has been very hard. Coming to terms with not having a child of my own is also very difficult. Hearing of friends and family having their children can be upsetting but I’m also happy for them. It gives me mixed emotions. For the last 18 months, I’ve been able to access my treatment through TCP Homecare which is direct to patient treatment. When I was getting my chemo, I’d go in and be fitted with the chemo drip and then staff would call to my house to remove it over the weekend. Until recently, my immunotherapy treatment was done at this hub as well but in January, funding for TCP was cut. Now I’m back on the ward. It just takes a lot out of me to be surrounded by cancer.”

Kerrie is sharing her story to raise awareness of bowel cancer. “I want what happened to me to never happen to somebody else. My age went against me. Presenting with the pains and symptoms I had at 37/38 years of age, bowel cancer wasn’t on the radar of the people looking after me. Now, here I am in my early 40s with incurable bowel cancer. That should never happen to anybody. I had abdominal pain, I had diarrhea. Two of the most common symptoms of bowel cancer but I was never referred for a colonoscopy. There are lots of possible explanations for those symptoms, but if you experience them persistently for a few weeks, push for a referral for your own peace of mind.”

Through a five-year partnership, the Irish Cancer Society has funded the establishment of the Young Onset Programme at the Trinity St. James Cancer Institute. In recognition of the unique challenges cancer can present to those diagnosed under 50 years old, the programme supports the holistic needs of these patients focusing on social work, sexual health, and fertility supports, with a team of healthcare professionals employed to work directly with patients to support them and their families across these areas.