Tegan Nedelkos

My story

In October of 2023 I had seen my GP to get a workup in order to start planning for a fourth baby. I got a clean bill of health, despite some low iron, fatigue, stomach bloating and postpartum bleeding from our third. Neither of us suspected the tumour silently growing in my rectum. I had no family history, don't drink and don't smoke. I was a tired Mumma of three. 

Fast forward a few months to February 12th 2024 and I was diagnosed Stage 4 metastatic bowel cancer through a colonoscopy at the age of 39. Within a week I would need an emergency ileostomy, as the tumour had completely obstructed my bowel, it had also spread to my liver and lung. We would learn that I would need months of aggressive treatment including loads of chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries.

My story is increasingly common in younger people. 1,884 Australians under the age of 50 are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year and the risk of being diagnosed with bowel cancer before the age of 40 has more than doubled since the year 2000.

In March 2025, there was no cancer left in my body. We did it. 

Then in December 2025 my team uncovered a recurrence in my liver and I am now back on treatment. The stats are good for early detection - 99% of bowel cancer cases can be treated successfully if found early. It becomes a little more tricky once it has been undetected long enough to metastasise.

I want people to know that bowel cancer does happen in younger people, the symptoms can easily be attributed to much less sinister reasons. Ask your healthcare provider to rule it out through screening, opt in for the screening if you fit the age group, or for peace of mind test kits are available commercially.

Two of my mantra’s that I continue to draw on are ‘anything to see my kids grow up’ and from one of our favourite books: We’re going on a Bear Hunt - ‘can’t go over it, can’t go under it, we’ll have to go through it’.

Together we can raise awareness, advocate for resources and try make it so that others don’t find themselves in the position I am in. This is why I walk — to celebrate the gift of survival, to hold close the memory of those we’ve lost, and to keep fighting for a future where no family faces cancer. No one walks alone.