Mum learns she is dying two hours before giving birth

Mum discovers she has stage four bowel cancer just two hours before the birth of her baby boy.

Kim McConnell’s son hadn’t even been born yet when she was told she had a large tumour on her bowel.

The 31-year-old mum, from Perth, Western Australia, had experienced some worrying symptoms throughout her pregnancy, but was unable to have a colonoscopy to check what was wrong as it would induce labour.

Two hours before she gave birth, the test was finally able to be done but came back with devastating news – the young mum-of-two had bowel cancer.

‘My Gastroenterologist told me I had a 11 centimetre tumour about to perforate my bowel,’ Kim told Daily Mail Australia.

After the birth of her son, Jai, the mum was transferred to a different hospital for a CT scan, where the news only got worse.

‘My surgeon had hoped it was localised and only stage two, but after the scan they said it was stage four and had spread to liver,’ the mum explained.

‘I had surgery the following day where they removed a large part of my bowel and one of the two spots on my liver.’

Kim is extremely positive about her chances of beating cancer.

Not only is she receiving chemotherapy treatments, but the mum-of-two is working with raw dietitians, Natalie and Stuart McIntosh.

‘I’m combining natural treatments with the chemotherapy,’ she explained. ‘I’m eating 90 per cent raw food and doing cold press juicing. I’m also using natural oils.’

‘Normally bowel cancer can take 10 years to develop,’ Kim explained. ‘But in young people it can develop within three years.

‘They have no doubt that the pregnancy hormones made a difference to how quickly it grew as well.’

She wants women to be aware of their bodies during pregnancy, and push for tests if they think something is wrong.

‘I want to help others that are going through this, especially younger people,’ she explained.

Kim is about to start her third dose of chemotherapy, and is incredibly determined that she will beat the cancer.

‘Having children, a cure is my only option,’ Kim told Daily Mail.

We wish Kim all the best and hope she can beat this dreadful disease.

Share your comments below.

Image via Daily Mail

18 Comments

- - cherz said
  - 04 Mar 2017
    10:02 pm
Wishing you all the very best Kim …stay strong and keep positive.

- - ella12 said
  - 10 Jan 2017
    2:19 pm
Oh my gosh, how awful. I hope she will be alright and best wishes to her and the family xo

- - rovermum said
  - 09 Jan 2017
    1:50 pm
Wow, so much to deal with. My best wishes go to Kim and her family with positive thoughts for a full recovery. This should be such a happy time with her new bub, but I hope with love and support, she can beat this.

- - june11 said
  - 08 Jan 2017
    9:24 pm
Kim has a positive attitude which will help with her recovery. It is remarkable how those with a postive attitude seem to cope a little better with the side effects of the chemo. If they can share a joke as they normally would instead of moping around that is good too.
I wish you well on your road to recovery and your family who have to learn to cope with your situation.

- - curlytops said
  - 08 Jan 2017
    5:52 pm
I pray that she does beat the cancer. My wishes are with her family.

- - mom81879 said
  - 07 Jan 2017
    8:46 pm
The most exciting time in her life made the most devastating by thus horrendous news. I really hope she makes a full recovery

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 06 Jan 2017
    11:40 am
How awful! Having a baby should have been the next chapter in her life. I hope she can band glad that she’s staying positive!

- - mom71495 said
  - 06 Jan 2017
    12:00 am
Dear Kim
I will put you on my prayer list and I hope for full healing and a great recovery. Keep positive and surround yourself with love. I know you will be a survivor. God bless.

- - mom94898 said
  - 05 Jan 2017
    10:00 am
Good luck Kim, I hope everything you are doing helps. Have any of the dieticians suggested drinking a tea made from pawpaw leaves? Do a search, it might help. I knew a lady who was given two years after chemo & radiation therapies, she started drinking pawpaw leaf tea every day & her diet consisted of mainly fresh fish & green vegetables, her doctors were very surprised two years later as she was cancer free. As I said above it please just do a search.

- - Ellen said
  - 05 Jan 2017
    7:46 am
Aw that news must have come as a shock, but good on you Kim for being so positive ! The fact that you are so positive indeed sure will enlarge your chances to beat cancer. Hope and pray your treatment has success.

- - mom101628 said
  - 04 Jan 2017
    11:52 pm
Wish you all the best in your fight against this cancer, Kim. We know how hard the fight can be and all you can do is try your best and hopefully you will have many loving friends and family around you that will keep your spirits up when you sometimes think of giving up. Your young family will inspire you as well.

- - taynik46 said
  - 04 Jan 2017
    9:44 pm
Kim – thank you for sharing your story, for being brave and being a fighter.

I’m cheering for you to beat this and live a long and happy life with your family.

Stay strong, stay positive – you’ve got this xx

- - rick said
  - 04 Jan 2017
    8:18 pm
Kim your story is certainly inspiring and with your strength and determination you will certainly do your best to beat the cancer. Gastrointestinal cancers are more prevalent than is made public and following my Mum’s successful stomach cancer surgery my Daughter founded a charity in Newcastle called surGICure to support research into gastrointestinal cancers ie bowel, stomach, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver, small and large intestines by the Surgeons at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.

Stay positive and we wish you and your family all the best for the future as you watch your beautiful children grow up.

- - pastosy said
  - 04 Jan 2017
    5:26 pm
That is so so sad. I hate cancer. I had symptoms and after Jules blog from Five Fairies and a Fella I went to have a colonoscopy. Even my doctor said not to worry but I demanded a colonoscopy. I think we need to demand when we think something is wrong

- - BellaB said
  - 04 Jan 2017
    4:29 pm
A friend had a similar experience. Dreadful.

- - mom90758 said
  - 04 Jan 2017
    2:14 pm
What a sad news in such a joyful day. I hope everything will go all right with her. 🙂

- - KerryW said
  - 04 Jan 2017
    1:36 pm
fight the good fight Kim, you and your beautiful family are worth it, all the very best with this. I would hope that the ‘good’ from your situation would be that there could be developed a test that could be used for any circumstance and be as close to perfect as they can get.

- - mom112217 said
  - 04 Jan 2017
    12:13 pm
Wishing Kim all the best and hopefully she can beat the cancer.