‘Living on borrowed time’: Kellie Finlayson shares heartbreaking update

An AFL star’s beloved wife has given a heartbreaking new insight into the brutal reality of her ongoing cancer battle.

Kellie Finlayson, the wife of Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson, has given a heartbreaking insight into her ongoing cancer battle.

Kellie, 28, was first diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer back in 2021, three months after giving birth to the couple’s daughter, Sophia.

She has fought a courageous and public battle with the disease, revealing in late July this year her tumour had started growing.

The disease went on to metastasise in her lungs after her diagnosis but scans had shown her tumour as being stable.

In an emotional video in August, however, Kellie revealed that was no longer the case.

Now speaking on NOVA’s Head Game podcast with Ant Middleton, Kellie has revealed the reality of living with cancer.

“My thoughts were complete mush. I was in complete denial,” she recalled of her reaction to being diagnosed.

“I’d never heard of cancer and had it linked to anyone younger than my grandparents.

“I kind of had to try and process that, while also trying to keep my head strong, funnily enough, so that my husband didn’t crumble, because I needed him to be able to parent as well.

“I lost a s*** ton of weight. I mean, I had a stoma, so I had a foreign object on my stomach.

Port Adelaide's Jeremy Finlayson and wife Kellie.

Kellie Finlayson with daughter Sophia.

“I wasn’t the normal mum that she should have had, but I was as good as I possibly could be. It was hard.

“I was allergic to one of the strands of that chemotherapy, which is why, when I did relapse, I had to change chemotherapy, which meant I lost my hair.

“I was on my deathbed. I was getting anaphylactic reactions every three weeks to this chemotherapy. So I was essentially dying every three weeks, just to get better.

“Then in December that year, so a few months later, I was relapsed, and it was in my lung, it was in my pelvis, it was in my stomach, it was everywhere.

“I mopped that all up with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Was doing really well, was really stable but I’ve never been ‘no evidence of disease’ since then, but I’ve been really stable and being able to live a life like an actual life, and not being on my deathbed each week.”

It's been a tough few years for the Finlaysons.

Kellie is staying positive during her health battle.

Kellie revealed the toll the ongoing treatment had taken on her and explained how knowing she has a finite time left has changed her approach to life.

“My new oncologist has just managed to, I guess, make sure quality of life is also met, knowing that I’m going to be living with this for the rest of my life likely,” she said.

Kellie said she is focusing on living day to day and not being “defined by disease”.

“I know that it’s a huge portion of who I am, and I have to be near my doctors and I need to be close to a hospital, whatever it may be,” she said.

“But I really pride myself in thriving with cancer. I do everything that I possibly can. I’m still working, I’m still advocating for this disease that I’m quite literally being treated for.

“I am still parenting really quite well. I’m doing all the things that a normal parent would do for the most part, and I feel like if I lived each day or day-by-day, then I’m doing a disservice.

“I want to make sure that I’m alive for a reason … if I’m alive, I might as well live.

“I’m living on borrowed time. I need to make the most of it.”

The Finlaysons sold their forever home earlier this year. Picture Mark Brake

Amid the family’s ongoing battle, the Finlaysons decided to sell their “forever home” as they prepare for the next stage of Kellie’s health treatment.

The couple bought a beautiful property in Hendon, Adelaide, in May 2022, in close proximity to Jeremy’s Port Adelaide footy club.

Unfortunately, the progression of Kellie’s illness means the couple need a house with more space for in-home care, including room for “equipment and machinery”.

So they made the tough decision to sell up and find a rental property.

“This was to be our forever home, but I guess life had other plans,” Kellie said.

Adding to the family’s troubles, Jeremy suffered a lacerated spleen in a collision during the Power’s clash with the Gold Coast on July 14.

The 28-year-old avoided surgery, but the incident sadly ended his 2024 campaign. Port Adelaide finished third on the ladder and were knocked out by the Sydney Swans in the preliminary final.

Originally published as ‘Living on borrowed time’: Kellie Finlayson shares heartbreaking update