Manukonga was on holiday in Rarotonga in January 2024 when she experienced a \u201csignificant bleed\u201d when she went to the toilet, followed by a stomach cramp at the end of that month.<\/p>\n
Her doctor referred her to a Tauranga specialist for a colonoscopy, which revealed she had cancer.<\/p>\n
Manukonga, who had medical insurance, said she had surgery at Tauranga\u2019s Grace Hospital in April 2024. She had 90cm of her large bowel where the tumour was removed, and some lymph nodes.<\/p>\n
\u201cComplications\u201d meant she was transferred to Tauranga Hospital for two weeks.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not an easy journey at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taup\u014d woman Donna Manukonga having chemotherapy after she was diagnosed with Stage 3B bowel cancer in March 2024.<\/p>\n
Side effects included brain fog, nausea, diarrhoea, tiredness, weakness and bowel issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe long-term side effects, I\u2019m still trying to work my way through 18 months later.\u201d<\/p>\n
This included peripheral neuropathy, which meant her fingers and toes were highly sensitive due to nerve damage.<\/p>\n
She described the sensation of getting her feet wet with cold water as \u201cburning\u201d and \u201clike little electrical impulses\u201d.<\/p>\n
Manukonga said the diagnosis had massively impacted her life.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything changed. You just lost all independence, all sense of identity, I couldn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was \u201con a mission to get myself better\u201d and was doing physiotherapy rehabilitation at the Cancer Rehabilitation Foundation (Pinc and Steel).<\/p>\n
Taup\u014d woman Donna Manukonga celebrating her 25th wedding anniversary in April with her husband Simon.<\/p>\n
Manukonga said she and her husband, Simon, had lived in Waih\u012b for 15 years where she worked in the funeral and grief therapy industries.<\/p>\n
She said it was great the Government was lowering the screening age to 56, but the current screening age \u201cwouldn\u2019t have got me anywhere\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you notice something, you\u2019ve got to do something about it … \u201d<\/p>\n
Government working on \u2018phased approach\u2019 to lowering screening age <\/p>\n
In a May media statement, Brown said the Government was committed to lowering the bowel screening age to match Australia\u2019s but needed to ensure the health system had the capacity to deliver timely follow-up care and treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we are taking a phased approach \u2013 expanding access step-by-step while building the workforce and infrastructure needed to support the programme safely and sustainably.”<\/p>\n
Brown said reducing the age to 56 was the \u201cnext milestone\u201d with more than 200,000 additional New Zealanders gaining access to screening from September.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The pathway would help to reduce unnecessary colonoscopies, free up specialist capacity and support the safe expansion of the bowel screening programme, Brown said.<\/p>\n
Tauranga company launches at-home bowel screening kits <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Porter said Price was a practising GP in the United Kingdom where he had seen young people in hospice care dying from bowel cancer.<\/p>\n
After moving to New Zealand about 18 months ago, Price noticed a gap for \u201cproactive screening options\u201d, Porter said.<\/p>\n
Porter said the test used the same technology as the national screening programme.<\/p>\n
True Proactive co-founder Rich Porter.<\/p>\n
The majority of those buying tests were aged 40 to 55, he said.<\/p>\n
Of the 2300 tests ordered, 24 positive tests were detected.<\/p>\n
Porter said Price reviewed every result and called those returned a positive result to discuss their next steps.<\/p>\n
He said one kit costs $190 plus shipping. A two-pack cost $340.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Huskinson said symptoms remained critically important for people not yet eligible for screening.<\/p>\n
The charity launched a campaign called \u201cpoo with a view\u201d for awareness month to encourage people to learn the symptoms.<\/p>\n
People could take the online symptom checker and go in the draw to win almost $5000 towards a holiday in a \u201cscenic loo\u201d destination, thanks to the charity\u2019s sponsor Plumbing World.<\/p>\n
Bowel cancer symptoms <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Source: Bowel Cancer New Zealand<\/p>\n