The ‘most dangerous myth’ about bowel cancer

Friday, 26 June 2026

Jodie Collins was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer at age 44.

Jodie Collins always thought of bowel cancer as an old person’s disease, but that was before her own shock diagnosis.

The Taupiri resident was 44 when she discovered she had the same condition her father had died from, just eight months after he was diagnosed.

“My dad was almost 74 when he passed away, so he was much older. The connection wasn't really made at that time,” she said.

Waikato resident Jodie Collins had a family history of bowel cancer, but initially thought her age meant she wasn’t at risk

After a life-changing ordeal, she is now studying for a doctorate in how to improve patient care, with the support of a Cancer Society Scholarship.

Amid Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, she is also urging anyone with symptoms to get checked for the condition, the second-highest cause of cancer deaths in New Zealand.

“I [want to] make a difference to someone, and if this message reaches one person who takes action, then I can say that I’ve done a good job.”

Bowel Cancer New Zealand is running an awareness month campaign, ‘Poo with a View’, to encourage people to learn about symptoms.

When Collins first began experiencing symptoms — fatigue and “running to the toilet 10 times a day” — she chalked it up to eating habits or the stress of a busy lifestyle. She had twin girls and was also running a business, Cafe on London.

Doctors didn’t think bowel cancer was a concern because of her age, and it wasn’t until a few years later that she gave serious thought to the issue.

She learned a friend’s wife, also relatively young, had been diagnosed with the condition.

This was when “the penny dropped” — her age didn’t mean she was safe, especially with her family history, and she needed to get checked.

A colonoscopy in 2020 lead to a diagnosis of stage three cancer.

“They found a 10 centimetre polyp which they removed, and indications then were maybe it's not that bad. So I just carried on, and it took a few weeks for results to come through.

“They told me that I had cancer and I needed to go for surgery. So it was all very shocking, and everything sort of happened quickly. They removed about 32 centimetres of my bowel.”

This was only the start of her battle with the disease. It had spread to her lymph nodes, and she had to go through chemotherapy. A year later, it had spread to her lungs, and another surgery was needed, then another.

The experience was “not fun at all”, and she had only been clear for a year, she said.

Her cancer journey had changed her whole life. She sold the cafe at a loss amid a Covid-19 downturn in order to focus on her health, and was now part-way through a PhD focused on improving lives for cancer patients.

“I had a master's in sport and exercise science, and I always sort of gravitated to special populations.'

Firsthand experience taught her that the surgeons and oncologists were very good at what they did, but support was often lacking in other ways, and a more holistic approach was needed.

Examples included psychosocial, family, financial, and nutritional support.

“If they've got all those wrap-around services from the get-go, then hopefully their journey will be better.”

Collins’ message that bowel cancer can strike the young as well as the old has also been highlighted by Bowel Cancer New Zealand.

Chief Executive Peter Huskinson said if detected early enough, it was one of the most treatable types of cancer.

“But far too many New Zealanders still don’t know what symptoms to look for or assume they’re too young to be at risk.”

“The most dangerous myth about bowel cancer is that you’re too young to get it.”

The charity’s awareness month campaign, “Poo with a View”, is giving people the chance to win a trip to a range of “ultimate scenic loo getaways” throughout the country by taking an online symptom-checker test.