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In January, Elise Stapleton underwent a routine surgery to treat endometriosis, which she had suffered for years.
During the procedure, doctors made an alarming discovery: the 36-year-old Melbourne woman had a 2.2-centimetre tumour in her bowel.
Doctors made the decision there and then to remove what they could of the cancerous growth.
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Stapleton said she was in "complete and utter shock" when she awoke after surgery to be told had bowel cancer.
"I did not suspect any type of bowel cancer, I thought I'm far too young," Stapleton told 9news.com.au
"I just thought this is endo, it has to be and bowel cancer did not cross my mind."
Stapleton is sharing her story in support of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, which has just made a world-first discovery.
Over the past five years, a team led by Dr Lisa Mielke and PhD candidate Marina Yakou have been examining immune cells – known scientifically as gamma delta T cells – in the large bowel.
More specifically, Mielke said, they were investigating the interaction between the microbiome or bacteria in the gut and immune cells.
"So we have looked at bowel cancer tumour samples," Mielke said.
"We found that the abundance of these immune cells was correlated with better patient outcomes and better survival."
But then they made an unexpected and novel discovery.
They isolated a gene on the immune cells dubbed TCF-1, which appeared to be suppressing the killer instinct of the immune cells.
"So these (immune cells) are killer T cells, so they should be able to recognise and kill tumours," Yakou told 9news.com.au
"However that gene (TCF-1) had acted like a break on the immune cells to really suppress their function and their ability to defend against cancer."
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In the lab, the team "disabled" the gene.
This in turn reactivated the immune cells to recognise bowel cancer and essentially "go in for the kill".
"So when we deleted TCF-1 … we saw these amazing and really incredible killing properties that came out of immune cells," Yakou said.
"So we saw a remarkable reduction in tumours as a result of that."
The discovery has been published to in the prestigious journal, Science Immunology.
And while they have made a "molecular" finding, Mielke said it was a big step towards the development of more targeted bowel cancer interventions.
"We now think we can target the immune (gamma delta T) cells within the large bowel, and develop new drugs for them specifically," she said.
"So that we can enhance treatment options for bowel cancer patients in the future."
Those treatments are urgently needed considering the rise of the disease, particularly among younger Australians.
Bowel cancer rates in younger people have been rising since the 1980s.
In fact, there has been a more than 250 per cent increase in incidence among those under age 50 over the past three decades.
Stapleton and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute want to raise awareness that bowel cancer is not just an "older person's disease".
"Honestly just trust your gut," she said.
"If there is anything that seems off about your body and you are uncertain, just go to your GP and back yourself.
"Because it is so important that if you are having any bowel cancer symptoms that you are being screened correctly."
