Michele Noad, Wiltshire

I was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer in June 2026 at the age of 62.

My husband and I had agreed that this year we would start ‘winding down’. After raising our two beautiful daughters and enjoying long and busy careers, we were having more holidays and time with friends.

I was feeling as fit as I ever had been; walking ten miles a day while on holiday and getting compliments on how healthy I appeared.

My diagnosis

Around this time, I received a bowel cancer screening test in the post. I completed it and thought nothing of it. I’d completed one three years earlier, and it had come back clear, so I really didn’t think anything of this one either.

But my results came back as needing further investigation. It completely took the wind out of my sails. I was able to get a colonoscopy a week later.

During my colonoscopy appointment, I allowed my hopes to climb as the consultant couldn’t see anything. It was only in those final moments, as they imaged the last section of bowel, that something sinister appeared on the screen.

“I’m very sorry to tell you Michele, but this is cancer,” the consultant said.

I was devastated. I sat on the edge of the bed and just cried to my husband. I couldn’t get it out of my head that I thought I was going to die.

Eventually, my husband drove me home to spend time with my sister and my daughters. I was drinking a gin and tonic when I had another call from the hospital to say that due to a cancellation, they could get me in for a scan to find out how far my cancer had spread. We jumped right back into the car.

The day after that scan, my doctor called me with the news that the cancer hadn’t spread beyond my bowel. There was a mountain in front of me, yes, but with amazing medicine and my faith, it was a mountain I could overcome. It was the best news I could have heard in that moment.

The surgery

A week or so later, I spoke with my surgeon who explained to me that my tumour was a T2 (but in actual fact it was a T3 by the time I went in for surgery) and that the aim was to cure me completely.

Everyone was very kind to me while I was in the hospital. I was in a ward with other people going through similar procedures.

I had a keyhole surgery, though I have been left with a five-inch scar down my middle. However, this has healed very quickly.

Two weeks later, my surgeon phoned me to say he had removed all the cancer in my bowel. But although they had tested 33 local lymph nodes and had found no cancer, one blood vessel very near to the site had two microscopic cancer cells. As a result, I'm now on a course of chemotherapy to ‘zap’ anything else left behind.

Where I am now

I won’t lie and say chemotherapy has been easy. It does hit me, usually a few days after my appointment. But I’ve been told to carry on living my life as much as possible, which I’m doing.

I’ve focused a lot on raising awareness among my friends and community: I had absolutely no symptoms of my cancer and I want other people to understand they could also find themselves in a similar boat.

I’ve also been fundraising for and supporting others in the bowel cancer community. I’ve been working on positive blogs called The CAPOX Diaries to support others going through this.

My own circle of family and friends have all been wonderful, and along with my faith, has been a real source of support for me throughout this experience.

Finally, I have three tips for people who are going through the same treatment as me:

Number one, buy yourself some fleece-lined gloves because chemotherapy will make you feel the cold on a new level. Number two, go to bed at 7:30 in the evenings and don’t fight the exhaustion. And number three, treat yourself when you can – I like to get my nails done.