Gemma Farquhar will always remember the exact ages of her children in April 2020: four and six.
‘I remember them distinctly because I thought, “I’m never going to see another milestone,”‘ she tells the Daily Mail.
At the time, Gemma was 35 with a busy but happy life and a successful career in human resources. That all changed when she received a devastating prognosis.
After visiting her doctor with complaints of ‘excruciating pain’ in her abdomen, she was sent for a CT scan and, within an hour, received a call from her doctor.
‘She called me and said, “You need to go to the hospital, you’ve got colon cancer,”‘ says Gemma. Her children were playing in the other room with their babysitter, the sound of cartoons and laughter in the background.
‘My whole world just ripped apart,’ recalls the Sydney mother, who was told the cancer was stage four and given an estimated life expectancy of 12 months.
‘I was working, successful, leading a fulfilling life. It’s the last thing on your mind, and you just think you’re going to die,’ she says.
Six years later, her journey has been far from easy, including repeated surgeries to first remove 13 centimetres of her bowel.
Gemma Farquhar’s daughters were six and four years old when she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer
Gemma (right, with a friend) says her ‘whole world just ripped apart’ when she received the devastating news at 35
This was followed by chemotherapy and then more surgery after it was discovered the cancer had spread to her ovary.
‘I had what they call a peritonectomy. They open your abdomen from the top to the pelvis,’ she explains.
This highly invasive procedure involves removing the lining of the abdominal cavity, the peritoneum.
After this came HIPEC (hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy), a specialised cancer treatment that combines surgery with heated chemotherapy.
‘It’s like hot chemotherapy that they flush through you – a massive 10-hour surgery,’ says Gemma.
For most people, her experience is unimaginable; however, her diagnosis is increasingly common.
Early-onset bowel cancer is rising at an alarming rate, with cases in Australians under 50 climbing from eight per cent to 13 per cent since 2000, according to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Rates have more than doubled in people aged 20–29, and tripled in those aged 30–39, while deaths in younger Australians have risen by 35 per cent.
Gemma had 13cm removed from her bowel followed by chemotherapy. Later, she found the cancer had spread to her ovary
Despite being given just 12 months to live, Gemma is still fighting six years later
Behind the statistics are lives being abruptly upended: young Australians navigating cancer while building careers, raising families and planning their futures, often facing delayed diagnoses in a system designed for older patients.
Gemma had been experiencing symptoms – including vomiting, pain and blood in her stools – for months before waking up in excruciating pain that couldn’t be ignored.
‘Over and over again, I would see different doctors or get referrals to experts, and not once did [bowel cancer] even come up as a possibility,’ she says. ‘There were absolutely symptoms beforehand. I just didn’t realise that it was this bad.’
From day one of her diagnosis, she chose to be honest with her children.
‘I told them, “Mummy has to go to hospital. They found a tumour inside of me”,’ she says.
‘They didn’t understand really at the time. They understand more now because it’s been part of their lives for the past six years. Mummy’s still in treatment, and mummy’s got a scan coming up, and mummy might be a little bit stressed waiting for the results.
‘I’ve always been honest and trying to educate them too around cancer and around your body.’
Her husband, Richard, has been by her side the whole time.
When asked the secret to surviving cancer as a couple, she credits her ‘positive outlook’ and how she approaches cancer like a home-renovation project.
‘By nature, I feel like I need to manage my own cancer,’ she says.
‘I know what’s happening, I speak to my doctors, I do my research. I make sure I give [Richard] the key highlights so he can at least understand.’
Six years on, she realises that her survival is ‘pretty amazing’, despite a setback in 2021, when doctors discovered the cancer had spread to her lungs.
‘I try to focus on the positives,’ she says.
‘I’m still on treatment – a targeted therapy – but it allows me to live a full life. I’m on four tablets a day and I’m also on another drug, which I have fortnightly as an infusion.’
‘I try to focus on the positives. I’m still on treatment – a targeted therapy – but it allows me to live a full life,’ Gemma tells the Daily Mail. (Gemma pictured with her daughters)
Since moving from chemotherapy to this targeted treatment plan – a type of drug treatment that attacks specific cancer cell features, known as molecular targets, to stop the cancer growing – on an average day, she feels ‘great’.
‘While on the chemo, I couldn’t have worked and felt like I wasn’t participating in life,’ she says. ‘But I’m back working full time. Most people wouldn’t even know I’ve got cancer.’
Today, Gemma is passionate about spreading awareness about colorectal cancer – cancers that start in the colon (large intestine) or the rectum (the end of the digestive tract).
She is a member of the Community Advisory Panel for GI Cancer Trials – a network of clinicians, researchers and advocates who work together to deliver clinical trials, with a focus on gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.
In May 2026, GI Cancer Trials announced it was working to fully fund a new trial, the ORBIT trial, which aims to deliver more flexible, patient-centred care through telehealth and after-hours treatment, alongside improved access to specialised services including fertility preservation, genetic testing, psychosocial support and mental health care.
The trial will also establish a national biobank to better understand and combat the rise of early-onset GI cancers.
Professor Lorraine Chantrill is a medical oncologist and the Chair of GI Cancer Trials. She says Australia is now seeing some of the highest rates of early-onset GI cancers in the world.
‘We still don’t fully understand why this is happening, and that’s one of the biggest concerns,’ says Professor Chantrill.
‘What we do know is that more young Australians are being diagnosed, and many of them are in the middle of their lives, working, raising children and planning for the future, when suddenly they are faced with a cancer diagnosis.’
The hope is trials like this will fill ‘gaps’ in the healthcare system for younger patients.
‘Our healthcare systems are very good, but they’ve traditionally been designed around older patients because most cancers do still occur in people over 60,’ says Professor Chantrill.
‘The reality is younger patients have very different needs. They’re trying to balance treatment with careers, study, parenting and financial pressures, while also dealing with issues like fertility, mental health and survivorship.’
Many cancer services still operate in a ‘Monday to Friday, nine to five’ way, says Professor Chantrill, which isn’t always practical for younger people who are working or caring for families.
The ORBIT trial is designed to pilot a new kind of care model specifically for younger adults with GI cancers. It includes more flexible, patient-centred support, including telehealth, out-of-hours appointments and access to multidisciplinary care teams that can help with fertility, genetics, mental health and maintaining quality of life during treatment.
‘We want to make it easier for young people to access the right support in the most efficient and practical way possible,’ she adds.
For cancer patients like Gemma, the trial offers hope; however, she adds, ‘I do want the research to move faster.’
In the meantime, she is focused on spreading awareness, even when it means leaning into uncomfortable conversations.
‘I’m always the one talking about toilets with my friends,’ she laughs.
‘When you have kids, you talk about their poo all the time. What colour is it? What’s the texture like? But you’ve got to check your own body, and be okay talking about this, too.’
As she nears the six-year anniversary of starting cancer treatment, she tears up as she thinks of the advice she would give her 35-year-old self.
‘I would never have thought I’d be here that long, to make it to 40,’ she admits.
‘I would reassure myself that it’s going to be really hard and really tough, but you will build resilience and networks along the way. I would tell myself: just hang in there.’
