Cliff’s Story

My husband Cliff was 41 when he was finally diagnosed with bowel cancer which had metastasised to his liver and lungs. He had been fobbed off for about 18 months being told he was too young for bowel cancer or there was nothing there except bowel when he pointed to his pain down in his left lower quadrant- which is where they eventually found the large tumour.

Cliff was diagnosed with depression until we eventually got a colonoscopy privately that found the cancer just before Xmas 2017. I remember going home and googling (even though as an Emergency nurse I knew better) reading his 5 year survival rate and crying ourselves to sleep. Our son Corey was 4 and our baby Zoe was only 1 at the time and the thought of them not getting to know their dad was what spurred him on to fight as long as he did.

Cliff was lucky enough to have medical insurance through his work and he made good use of it over the last 5 years – all of his treatments and surgeries cost over $500k and they helped extend his life and give him the chance to make as many memories as possible with me and the kids. Cliffs treatment involved lots of surgeries including multiple liver surgeries which always ended up in long hospital stays due to post op infections and many rounds of chemo and cetuximab. His journey was like being on a roller coaster with the highs and lows but he made the most of every opportunity he had to get out and live life. He loved fishing and surfing and socialising with a few beers and he did his best to not let his cancer get in the way of everything that gave him joy. A week before he passed, he organised his last hurrah with his mates – heading down to his favourite spot on the beach with a fire and some good yarns.

I wish Cliff had been listened to early and his symptoms investigated properly as there would have been a good chance he’d still be here today, and we’d get to grow old together like we planned. Instead, I’m learning now to juggle life as a solo mum navigating my own grief as well as our children’s.