Bowel cancer survivor and former Bachelor contestant Sophie Edwards tells of the rare surgery which has changed her life

The former Bachelor contestant and bowel cancer survivor tells of her battle with a debilitating condition and the rare surgery which has given her a new lease of life.

Bowel cancer survivor Sophie Edwards had finally reached breaking point.

For more than two years she’d battled the disease, enduring rounds of chemotherapy and major surgeries. At one stage, she almost died on the operating table.

But it was an incident at the Super Netball Grand Final in August when Edwards realised something had to change.

The former Bachelor contestant had suffered yet another “accident” as a result of incontinence, a debilitating condition she’d developed in the aftermath of cancer.

Edwards was wearing an adult nappy but needed to use the venue’s disabled toilet when a woman accused her of faking her condition.

Crohn’s disease advocate Jordan Lambropoulos, with Sophie Edwards and Kellie Finlayson. Picture: Ben Clark

“She was questioning what was wrong with me, and it just made me feel so awful. She made me feel so small, like I wasn’t a human being,” said Edwards, who starred on Channel 10’s reality dating show in 2016.

“So I just left. I got into an Uber and sat in my own filth on the way home, just sobbing.”

After that experience, she asked her doctor if she could have her colostomy bag reinserted. It was a drastic step but Edwards felt she had no choice.

Instead, she was referred to a surgeon, who suggested a different form of treatment: a sacral nerve stimulator.

The device was implanted in Edwards’ lower back and delivers electrical stimulation to nerves in the area, effectively telling her when she needs to use the bathroom.

Now two weeks since the surgery, Edwards said it has “completely changed her life”.

“I’m never going to be 100 per cent like I was before cancer but this has given me some normality,” she said.

“I haven’t bought underwear in so long because I haven’t needed to wear it but the other day I went to Kmart and bought underwear... it was such a big moment for me.

“It’s those little things that you take for granted.”

Diagnosed with stage 3 rectal adenocarcinoma in 2022, Edwards got the all-clear from cancer last year but incontinence – an inability to control urinary and bowel movements – was a daily struggle that left her depressed and fearful of leaving the house.

Bowel cancer survivor Sophie Edwards adopted her younger sister’s son Jaxon, now 8, in 2015. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“It sounds stupid but it’s something that really affects you as a person. You do feel subhuman, you feel so self conscious, like you’re hiding this massive secret from everyone,” said the 36-year-old, who would wear loose, baggy clothing to conceal the adult nappies she wore out every day.

Edwards, who co-hosts the Sh*t Talkers podcast with Kellie Finlayson, is hopeful of encouraging others suffering incontinence to talk about their condition, and raise awareness of the rare SNS surgery.

“It’s heartbreaking that this surgery isn’t more well-known. It’s an uncommon fix to a common problem,” said Edwards, who had up to 30 per cent of her intestines plus her rectum removed following surgery.

“There’s only one surgeon in South Australia who does this, and there’s only about three done each year in the public system.

“But there are options and it’s important to have those conversations. Don’t be embarrassed by it. There is hope out there.”

Edwards has now set her sights on having a baby next year, using eggs she froze prior to starting bowel cancer treatment.

“I didn’t want to be in nappies at the same time as my baby,” said the Bowel Cancer Australia advocate and Jodi Lee Foundation ambassador.

“I’m having further tests to see how my body is in terms of being able to carry a child but we’re hopeful. This has just put everything into a whole new light.”