Bowel cancer: Dunedin mother of three′s shock diagnosis at age 42

Nicola Petrie - pictured with her husband Andrew and three daughters Renée, 12, Zoë, 8, and Greer, 4 - was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bowel cancer in 2024. Photo / Sinead McGivern

More than 3000 Kiwis are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, but what you might not know is that over 350 of those are under the age of 50, according to Bowel Cancer New Zealand. Ahead of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in June, South Island-based mum Nicola Petrie shares the story of her own diagnosis at just 42 years old.

When Nicola Petrie first began experiencing mild anaemia symptoms, her first thought was “I’ve got to get myself right so I can give blood again”.

A month later the mother of three was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, underwent major surgery, and is now facing a huge cost for treatment that could give her more time with her young family but isn’t funded in New Zealand.

Nicola and her husband Andrew describe themselves as a “Dunedin born and bred” couple who love serving their local community: Nicola works at the local council, while Andrew works for the Otago Cricket Association.

They’re parents to three daughters, Renée, 12, Zoë, 8, and Greer, 4, with their youngest set to start school in October. But the couple say their world “just stopped” when a 6-hour wait in A&E resulted in Nicola being diagnosed with an aggressive form of bowel cancer on April 22 this year.

“A month ago I was feeling quite tired and what I thought was slight anaemia - not enough for the doctor to be concerned, but not enough to be able to give blood,” Nicola tells the Herald.

She was worried she had a bowel obstruction, but her doctor thought she had constipation and prescribed laxatives.

“We went home and I tried to take the laxatives but nothing stayed down basically for 48 hours. I was very reluctant to go to A&E but Andrew put his foot down and said ‘We’re going’.”

Before the diagnosis, Nicola and Andrew were “jovial” and relaxed, joking “just have the enema already”.

Then, as Andrew recalls, “The one thing that I remember is the doctor saying, ‘I need to go and get a chair’” before delivering the heartbreaking news.

“And then they tell you it looks incurable,” Nicola says. “Probably ‘harrowing’ is the way to describe it. Just, the world stops.”

By midday that day, she was in surgery to remove a tumour and some polyps from her bowel. While it was a major operation, she says it was “relatively straightforward and quick to recover from”.

However, histology revealed Nicola has a BRAF gene mutation, meaning she has a particularly aggressive form of bowel cancer. It means that after several weeks of publicly-funded chemotherapy, she will need a BRAF-specific drug combination of Cetuximab and Encorafenib, which as Andrew explains, “is more likely to give time than hope of anything more”.

As far as they know, this drug treatment will cost around $10,000 to $15,000 per month - a total of $60,000-$70,000 for six or seven months of treatment.

This drug combination is not funded in New Zealand, though they have the option to apply for some funding through Nicola’s oncologist on compassionate grounds.

Dunedin couple Andrew and Nicola Petrie's "world stopped" when Nicola was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Photo / Sinead McGivern

However, across the ditch it’s a different story. The drug treatment is partially funded in Australia. Would they ever consider travelling there for it?

“I think the difficulty is how aggressive it is and the amount of the amount of energy that Nicola’s got,” Andrew says. “Because the prognosis isn’t great, it’s a case of how far do you go, and the quality versus quantity [of time] as well.”

Nicola has also been offered a clinical trial in Auckland, but as the couple want to keep home life “as normal as possible” for their children, they’re yet to make a decision.

“We haven’t ruled it out, but just trying to keep our options open,” she says.

They can’t believe how many people - friends, family and strangers - have already donated to a Givealittle page set up by one of Nicola’s high school friends. At the time of writing, the page had raised more than $30,000.

The mum of three holds back tears. “It’s so overwhelming, we’re just normal people that have just been blessed by strangers and friends alike.”

That same friend reached out to a local photographer and a makeup artist to organise a family photo shoot before Nicola’s treatment started. Both responded saying they would love to be involved and did not expect any payment for their services.

“We just wanted something to commemorate family before physical changes happened and I just was so warmed by how generous these complete strangers were to me,” Nicola says.

In the meantime, they want to make sure life goes on as normal for their young family.

When it came to breaking the news of her diagnosis to her daughters, Nicola says, “I’ve sort of let them lead me a bit.”

As Nicola Petrie undergoes treatment for bowel cancer, she wants home life to stay as normal as possible for her three young daughters. Photo / Sinead McGivern

“My eldest is pretty onto it and pretty much knows the majority of it. My middle child, it was like, ‘Do you know what cancer is?’ and then letting her ask questions about it, and then my youngest just thinks that I’m sick.

“I think that’s probably been good for me too, because we can just keep positive about what the future holds.”

“We’re trying to do as many of the normal activities as we can do, it’ll just be a case of how we can keep that up,” Andrew adds, but it’s a challenge. “It is really hard for me to almost have two realities.”

One of those realities is what they know from the oncologist and doctors, and the other is the hope the couple are holding on to as they make the most of the time they have together.

“It can be hard to stay in the more positive, knowing there will be an end.”

At 42, Nicola does not qualify for free bowel cancer screening, and while she knows screening everyone may not be “economically viable”, she’s one of many whose diagnoses could have been caught earlier if things were different.

“You just don’t even get a chance to fight when you get a stage 4 diagnosis,” she says.

“My story is every hypochondriac’s nightmare because it’s just so easily put down to other symptoms. If you don’t feel right, keep pushing and advocating for yourself.”

You can donate to the Givealittle page set up for Nicola and Andrew Petrie and their family here.

Nicola Petrie pictured with her daughter Renée, 12. Photo / Sinead McGivern

Bowel cancer in New Zealand

More New Zealanders are being diagnosed with bowel cancer at a young age.

A study published by the University of Otago on May 9 showed cases among Kiwis under 50 have increased by 26 per cent on average each decade from 2000 to 2022.

In New Zealand, Kiwis aged 60 to 74 are eligible for free bowel cancer screening every two years. The National Party pledged during last year’s election campaign to lower the screening age to 55.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti’s office told the Herald he had received advice on lowering the screening age, but declined to release details since it was under “active consideration”.

Bowel Cancer New Zealand believes the screening age should be lowered to 45.

The charity’s general manager Rebekah Heal tells the Herald, “Kiwis need to know that bowel cancer affects men and women of all ages – you’re never too young, and this disease does not discriminate.

“There is a rising incidence of bowel cancer in younger people. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world, and it is the second-highest cause of cancer death in our country.

“To change these shocking statistics, we desperately need to lower our screening age to at least 50, so we are catching bowel cancer earlier when it’s still treatable and beatable.”

Symptoms to look out for include changes in your bowel movements across several weeks, blood in your poo, fatigue, anaemia and weight loss for no apparent reason.

Heal advises, “Don’t hesitate to see your GP if you have bowel concerns; 90 per cent of bowel cancer is curable if caught early enough.”

For more information about bowel cancer and Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, head to the Bowel Cancer New Zealand website here.

Bethany Reitsma is an Auckland-based journalist covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2019. She specialises in telling Kiwis’ real-life stories, money-saving hacks and anything even remotely related to coffee.