THIS time last year, Emily Taylor was vowing to raise money for the oncology ward where her identical twin sister, Christina, would undergo chemotherapy for Stage IV bowel cancer.
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Now, Ms Taylor is doing Dry July again to fund-raise for the Calvary Mater Newcastle.
Only this time, Christina is no longer by her side.
"She ended up having her big surgery, and the doctors were really happy with how it went," Ms Taylor said.
"It was a curative surgery. They were even questioning whether to do chemo at all."
The sisters celebrated their 30th birthday with a "big party" on the 24th of February.
"Christina was due to start chemo after that," Ms Taylor said. "But then she started having some issues with her breathing, and they found some fluid on her lungs.
"Her oncologist said the cancer had come back."
Once Christina had recovered from lung surgery, she began chemotherapy.
"But in the end, by that time, it had spread too far."
Christina died in May.
Last year, Ms Taylor raised almost $10,000 for the Calvary Mater. The Dry July Foundation matched her fundraising efforts to donate a total of $20,000 to the hospital to buy new chemotherapy chairs, blanket warmers and scarves and turbans for oncology patients.
"This year I want to raise money again to help people like Christina," Ms Taylor said. "Instead of me doing Dry July singularly this year, we have actually made a group to raise money.
"Our team is called Christina's Cancer Warriors, and we have raised more than $11,000 so far. I know Christina would want me to keep raising awareness. If it helps one person question a result, or get checked, then it's worth it."
Ms Taylor said her sister was 29 when she was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
Because of Christina's young age, doctors were initially investigating whether "girly issues", Crohn's disease or colitis, were responsible for her symptoms - bloating, vomiting, and weight loss.
"She had three hospital trips, and then her doctor pushed for a colonoscopy," Ms Taylor said.
Bowel Cancer Australia (BCA) says a new global study of seven high-income countries had found a "sharp increase" in the number of people aged 20 to 29 diagnosed with bowel cancer.
"Bowel cancer is now the most common cause of cancer death for Australians aged 25-29, while bowel cancer and brain cancer are responsible for the greatest number of cancer deaths for those aged 30-34," BCA chief, Julien Wiggins, said. "In NSW, people with a positive test result from the government screening program can be waiting to up 159 days for their colonoscopy in the public system, well beyond the recommended 30 days."
Mr Wiggins said younger Australians and their GPs needed to recognise and promptly investigate symptoms, such as blood in faeces or unexplained anaemia.
"98 percent of bowel cancer cases can be successfully treated, if detected early, however fewer than 50 percent of cases are detected at an early stage," he said.
"A lower start-age from 50 to 45 as the American Cancer Society now recommends for bowel cancer screening could be part of the solution, together with ways to reduce risk through diet and lifestyle changes, as well as improved symptom awareness among both patients and GPs."
He said diet and lifestyle choices could influence bowel cancer risk.
"Be physically active every day in any way for 30 minutes, eat wholegrains and naturally high fibre foods, participate in screening appropriate to your personal level of risk, avoid processed meat, and limit red meat consumption," he said.
"If you choose to drink alcohol, limit the amount."
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