Laura Dundovic’s bowel cancer scare after routine colonscopy

Aged 38 and in great shape, model and actress Laura Dundovic doesn’t seem like a candidate for bowel cancer. So results from a recent scan came as a shock.

What she initially thought would be a standard procedure taken out of an abundance of caution turned out to become a serious health scare for model and TV personality Laura Dundovic.

The 38-year-old is still awaiting biopsy results after doctors found 15 polyps when she underwent a colonoscopy on Monday.

The number of polyps showed Dundovic suffers from serrated polyposis syndrome (SPS), a condition former Miss Universe Olivia Molly Rogers and radio presenter Carrie Bickmore also have.

“I am trying to focus on the blessing that they found it and whatever made me go in and do this, I am just really thankful for that,” Dundovic told The Sunday Telegraph.

“While it is really hard, at least it is something I can monitor and watch. As hard as it is, I’d rather know than not know. The doctor said it didn’t look like cancer but we need to be sure, particularly given I have a history of bowel cancer in my family.”

Laura Dundovic was shocked by the results of her colonoscopy. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

While optimistic about the prognosis, it has been a tough week waiting, and Dundovic has urged other Australians not to hold off getting tested because she had no symptoms herself.

The standard recommendation for anyone who is high-risk to get regular screenings from age 45, but Dundovic pointed to data that showed the incidence of bowel cancer in teenagers and young adults had risen 266 per cent over the past three decades.

Dundovic says she hopes her situation encourages others to get checked. Picture: Supplied

“Because I have haemochromatosis, which can lead to bowel cancer, I thought I probably should just have it checked to cross it off the list,” she said.

“Most young people are getting diagnosed with stage three and four cancer because the screening is so late.

“You really have to push for the testing if you want to get in early.

“I hope this raises awareness of going to have things checked before it is too late, whether that be a mammogram, a skin cancer check, a colonoscopy or anything else.”

If they had found no polyps, Dundovic would have been clear for 10 years. Now she has to have a colonoscopy each year, on top of the ongoing treatment for haemochromatosis that includes monthly donations at Lifeblood to reduce her iron levels.

Dundovic also suffers from auto-immune disease hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

“It is just another thing on the list on top of everything I have going on, thinking about all of that is not great, it can be overwhelming,” she said.

Dundovic broke down in tears in an emotional video she shared to social media this week, saying: “I was expecting nothing.
“To find out that I had 15 polyps and that I had another condition was confronting and then to be told that they were being sent off for a biopsy was not a nice feeling.

“It feels very vulnerable sharing my story, but I do feel better knowing that so many people have contacted me saying they are now getting checked.”

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Originally published as Laura Dundovic’s bowel cancer scare after routine colonscopy