Manukonga is now in remission and sharing her story for Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.
It comes after Health Minister Simeon Brown announced in Budget 2026 the eligibility age for the national bowel screening programme would be lowered from 58 to 56 – the “next milestone” in the Government’s phased approach in matching Australia’s screening age of 45.
Manukonga was on holiday in Rarotonga in January 2024 when she experienced a “significant bleed” when she went to the toilet, followed by a stomach cramp at the end of that month.
Her doctor referred her to a Tauranga specialist for a colonoscopy, which revealed she had cancer.
Manukonga, who had medical insurance, said she had surgery at Tauranga’s Grace Hospital in April 2024. She had 90cm of her large bowel where the tumour was removed, and some lymph nodes.
“Complications” meant she was transferred to Tauranga Hospital for two weeks.
There, she found out her cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and she needed six months of chemotherapy to stop it from spreading to another organ.
“It was not an easy journey at all.”
Taupō woman Donna Manukonga having chemotherapy after she was diagnosed with Stage 3B bowel cancer in March 2024.
Side effects included brain fog, nausea, diarrhoea, tiredness, weakness and bowel issues.
“The long-term side effects, I’m still trying to work my way through 18 months later.”
This included peripheral neuropathy, which meant her fingers and toes were highly sensitive due to nerve damage.
She described the sensation of getting her feet wet with cold water as “burning” and “like little electrical impulses”.
Manukonga said the diagnosis had massively impacted her life.
“Everything changed. You just lost all independence, all sense of identity, I couldn’t work.”
She was “on a mission to get myself better” and was doing physiotherapy rehabilitation at the Cancer Rehabilitation Foundation (Pinc and Steel).
Taupō woman Donna Manukonga celebrating her 25th wedding anniversary in April with her husband Simon.
Manukonga said she and her husband, Simon, had lived in Waihī for 15 years where she worked in the funeral and grief therapy industries.
She said it was great the Government was lowering the screening age to 56, but the current screening age “wouldn’t have got me anywhere”.
“If you notice something, you’ve got to do something about it … ”
Government working on ‘phased approach’ to lowering screening age
In a May media statement, Brown said the Government was committed to lowering the bowel screening age to match Australia’s but needed to ensure the health system had the capacity to deliver timely follow-up care and treatment.
“That’s why we are taking a phased approach – expanding access step-by-step while building the workforce and infrastructure needed to support the programme safely and sustainably.”
Brown said reducing the age to 56 was the “next milestone” with more than 200,000 additional New Zealanders gaining access to screening from September.
The Government has been rolling out nationwide access to a free test for people of any age with bowel cancer symptoms called the FIT for Symptomatic pathway.
Brown said the rollout was expected to be completed by the end of September. People would normally be referred by their GP for the test, which helped clinicians assess risk and prioritise urgent cases.
The pathway would help to reduce unnecessary colonoscopies, free up specialist capacity and support the safe expansion of the bowel screening programme, Brown said.
Tauranga company launches at-home bowel screening kits
True Proactive is a Tauranga-based company offering at-home bowel screening kits. It was co-founded by Dr Clive Price and Rich Porter and launched online in March.
Porter said Price was a practising GP in the United Kingdom where he had seen young people in hospice care dying from bowel cancer.
After moving to New Zealand about 18 months ago, Price noticed a gap for “proactive screening options”, Porter said.
Porter said the test used the same technology as the national screening programme.
True Proactive co-founder Rich Porter.
The majority of those buying tests were aged 40 to 55, he said.
Of the 2300 tests ordered, 24 positive tests were detected.
Porter said Price reviewed every result and called those returned a positive result to discuss their next steps.
He said one kit costs $190 plus shipping. A two-pack cost $340.
Bowel Cancer New Zealand chief executive Peter Huskinson said bowel cancer was one of the most treatable cancers when found early, with about 90% of cases curable.
Huskinson said symptoms remained critically important for people not yet eligible for screening.
The charity launched a campaign called “poo with a view” for awareness month to encourage people to learn the symptoms.
People could take the online symptom checker and go in the draw to win almost $5000 towards a holiday in a “scenic loo” destination, thanks to the charity’s sponsor Plumbing World.
Bowel cancer symptoms
Bleeding from the bottom or in your poo;A persistent change in bowel habits;Ongoing or severe abdominal pain;Unexplained weight loss or fatigue;A lump or swelling in the abdomen.
Source: Bowel Cancer New Zealand
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.