'Cancer has made me stronger'.

When Kirstie Davies woke up on New Year's Day she felt rough, it was obviously a hangover from the previous evening's celebrations - a bad headache and a delicate tummy.

At first Kirstie thought she'd overdone the partying and she shrugged it off, but time proved to be no healer and the flu-like symptoms and tummy pain persisted long after they should have naturally disappeared.

Days turned into weeks and then months passed and all the time the 22-year-old experienced a dull aching pain in her stomach which was accompanied by a constant feeling of nausea. Kirstie was off her food and was battling with alternate bouts of constipation and then diarrhoea.

Eventually Kirstie turned to her GP for help and his diagnosis was she was suffering from gastroenteritis and a routine prescription would soon clear it up.

"The tablets just didn't work - in fact they made matters worse and after a few more months I went back to the doctor and some blood tests were taken," said Kirstie.

It was from this blood test that Kirstie was to embark on a frightening journey that turned her life upside down for nearly four years.

"The test showed that I was anaemic and so I was referred to a gastroenterologist at Llandough Hospital and she then referred me for a colonoscopy which I must admit is not the most pleasant thing in the world when you have a camera put into your bowel.

"A few days later I had gone to Glasgow for the weekend and was in the airport waiting to come home, when I got a call from my dad saying the hospital wanted to see me immediately.

"I tried not to think the worst but I was worried. I got to the hospital the next day and it was then I was told they had found a tumour and it was cancerous. I just didn't know what to say, it was such a shock. Only six months before that New Year's Day I'd never had any trouble or been really ill." Within a few weeks Kirstie was on the operating table where 95% of her large bowel was removed - a length of between four to five feet - and after further surgery within two days she was fitted with a temporary ileostomy bag to allow her bowel to recover.

Kirstie remained in hospital for four weeks unable to eat properly while she recovered from the surgery.

Back home at last there was only a short break before she had to start a 22-week course of chemotherapy, and although she didn't lose her hair, the drugs caused a series of side-effects, such as nausea, a loss of sensation in her mouth and difficulty eating.

"It also affected my speech, I was slurring my words which was embarrassing as it sounded as if I was drunk.

"My hands dried out and were red and sore and I lost about two and a half stone in weight. Practically the only think I could hold down was Mr Kipling's Fondant Fancies." After the chemotherapy Kirstie went back into hospital to have the ileostomy reversed and get rid of the bag which was dominating her life.

"Unfortunately there were more complications and I was stuck with that bag for another year. I was desperate to get rid of it - it's not a very nice thing to have with you all the time, it gets in the way and was a constant worry if I was going out anywhere with my friends.

"The other problem is that it affects what you can wear, I couldn't wear anything too tight, especially the low-slung jeans that were around a But after another ye hindered by the bag, Kir and this was the start of "Since then I've had an and I've now been told tha the surgeon will only wan then after about five ye clear." And to improve matte works for Job Centre P Cardiff, has become enga and the couple are now c Road, Llanishen.

"Looking back over the the most stressful time i emotionally, but I do fe person.

"I know now that I hav whatever life throws at m "I really didn't know m that it was probably som much older may get. I thin just bad luck. There have but tests have been don wasn't hereditary." at the time." ear of being hampered and rstie eventually had it removed a return to normal life.

n annual scan and it's been fine at after a check-up this summer, nt to see me every two years and ears I should be pretty much ers even further Kirstie, who Plus at Companies House in aged to her partner Adam Hill creating a new home in Tatham e whole four years this has been in my life both physically and eel it has made me a stronger ve the fight in me to overcome me from now on.

much about bowel cancer, only mething that people who are nk for people my age to get it is e been cases of it in the family ne and they've shown that this

Bowel can women with 8 over the age People w cancer are age of 45.

The ex unknown your risk inactive and pr amou smok S the four from the wit and ever dise if ca Bow most c death i than 36 For m Bowe ncer affects both men and 85% of all cases in people of 60.

with a family history of bowel often diagnosed before the .

xact cause of bowel cancer is n but certain factors increase k and these include an e lifestyle, low-fibre diet, red rocessed meat, insufficient unts of fruit and vegetables, king and excess alcohol.

Symptoms include a change in normal bowel habit lasting r weeks or more, bleeding m the bottom and/or blood in e stools, extreme tiredness thout obvious cause, a pain d/or lump in your abdomen.

Nearly 16,000 people die ry year from bowel cancer, a ease which is highly treatable ught early.

wel Cancer is the second common cause of cancer in the UK and every year more 6,500 people are diagnosed.

more information, call the owel Cancer Advisory Service on 0800 840 3540 or visit the website www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk l cancer colon to bring awareness home

THE inside of the human colon was brought to life in Cardiff yesterday in a bid to raise awareness of bowel cancer.

A massive 11m-long inflatable replica of one of the body's internal organs was set up at Cardiff Central Fire Station to highlight the importance of a healthy bowel.

The event also marked the six-month anniversary of the launch of bowel cancer screening in Wales.

The home testing kits, which have been sent to more than 80,000 people aged 60 to 69, have so far helped to diagnose 25 cases of the disease.

Jennifer Kerr, 62, from Bettws, near Newport was the first person whose cancer was detected by Bowel Screening Wales, said: "I'm very pleased that I received the test kit and the cancer was picked up at an early stage..

"My advice to anybody is to do the test when you receive it - it could save your life." Everyone aged 50 to 74 in South Wales will be sent a home testing kit for bowel cancer every two years by 2015.

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in Wales, with 2,000 people diagnosed every year.

Around 1,000 people die from bowel cancer each year in Wales, but if picked up early, it is one of the most treatable forms of the disease.

Hayley Heard, head of Bowel Screening Wales, said: "Regular bowel screening has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16%.

"If bowel cancer is picked up early enough, then it's more likely that the disease can be treated successfully."Bowel cancer is a disease often linked with the elderly but the devastating condition can also affect younger people. Kirstie Davies told Greg Tindle about the shock of her diagnosis when in her early 20s.

CAPTION(S):

Kirstie Davies at home with fiance Adam Hill PICTURE: Huw Evans Agency Bowel cancer sufferer Jennifer Kerr, 62, from Bettws, inside a large inflatable colon at Cardiff Central Fire Station Picture: Andrew James[umlaut]