Time is running out for Pāpāmoa mother-of-three Kerry Bary.

She does not know if she will live to see this Christmas.

The 50-year-old was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer last year. Her prognosis, initially one to five years, is now just “months”.

She is focused on spending time with her husband Rusty, her three children, and her granddaughter - but also wants to share her story.

“With time running short, we live differently. We don’t put things off any more. We take photos. We laugh loudly. We make memories.

“Because memories are what will remain when I no longer can.”

She made these comments to Bowel Cancer New Zealand for its Never Too Young campaign, launched last week to raise awareness of bowel cancer in younger people and the importance of early detection.

The organisation’s new report found bowel cancer was the leading cause of cancer death among New Zealanders younger than 50. It called for the national screening age to be lowered to 45.

Bary is an ambassador for the campaign, and believes her cancer could have been detected earlier if the screening age was lower.

The Government has promised to progressively lower the age of eligibility from 60 to 45 to eventually align with Australia.

The first “significant” step was lowering it to 58, “as funding and access to additional colonoscopy resource becomes available,” Health Minister Simeon Brown said in March.

This change came into effect in October for Northland, Auckland and the South Island, with the rest of the North Island to follow in March.

A simple at-home test for those with bowel cancer symptoms is also being introduced.

According to Bowel Cancer NZ, each year about 3300 New Zealanders are diagnosed with the disease, and 1200 die from it. Caught early, it is more than 90% curable.

‘It has changed my life completely’

In February 2023, Bary told her doctor she had been having diarrhoea since Christmas, and noted other changes in her bowel movements, including going to the bathroom up to 20 times daily.

“Nothing much” came from that appointment, but her symptoms kept getting worse, Bary told Bowel Cancer NZ.

In March, she went to A&E with severe diarrhoea and blood in her stool.

A colonoscopy and CT scan followed in April.

Kerry Bary with her son, Bronson. Photo / Supplied

“I was told the words nobody ever expects to hear: ‘You have bowel cancer’.”

Bary had surgery at Grace Hospital. In May, she was told her cancer had spread and it was Stage 4.

“We were devastated.”

A PET CT scan later that month showed further spreading.

She learned her cancer was considered “untreatable” and her prognosis of one to five years was shortened to “months”.

“It has changed my life completely. Physically, emotionally, and in all the ways it touches my family.”

She started chemotherapy in June and is focused on making memories with family and friends.

This year, they went to Rarotonga with friends, surprised her son with a trip to Thailand, and took a “final” trip to Fiji with extended family.

“These trips gave us so many laughs, tears and special memories, including seeing my daughter get engaged.”

Bary said bowel cancer was “not just an old person’s disease” and could strike younger adults.

“If you notice changes — blood in stool, change in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, feeling [your] bowel doesn’t empty — don’t ignore it.

“Get checked. Push for a colonoscopy and seek a second opinion if you’re not satisfied.”

Pāpāmoa mother Kerry Bary, third from right, was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer last year. She is trying to spend as much quality time as she can with her family: Daughter Jessica's fiancé Liam (left), daughter Jessica, two-year-old granddaughter, son Bronson, husband Russell (Rusty), and daughter Courtney.

Bowel Cancer NZ chief executive Peter Huskinson said the report showed “too many” people were told they were “too young” for bowel cancer.

“By the time they were diagnosed, it was advanced.”

Huskinson said it showed major change was needed to raise awareness of symptoms and ensure people of all ages were taken seriously when seeking help.

“Our clinically backed, costed plan to begin screening at 45, shared with the Government earlier this year, would detect six in 10 early-onset bowel cancers before symptoms develop – at an earlier, more treatable stage.”

Brown said his thoughts were with Bary and her family during this incredibly difficult and distressing time.

“Early detection of bowel cancer is critical, which is why last month I announced the national rollout of the FIT for Symptomatic test, already under way in five districts.”

The test allowed anyone of any age with symptoms to do a “quick at-home assessment” of their risk. The person would be referred for a colonoscopy if they were at “possible risk”.

Discover more

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• 'I just cried': 32-year-old's Stage 4 bowel cancer battle

Brown said the Government was committed to lowering the bowel screening age to match Australia.

Expanding colonoscopy capacity was essential to achieving that, and the new test was a “critical part of this approach”.

Previously, anyone with symptoms would have been referred for a colonoscopy, “putting pressure on the system”.

“Testing people with symptoms first helps free up capacity.”

Brown said the test was expected to reduce colonoscopy referrals by 30-60%, allowing faster diagnosis for those most at risk.

He said the Government would also deliver 7100 additional colonoscopies through to mid-2026.

Brown said he had received Bowel Cancer NZ’s proposal and asked officials for advice.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.