Sydney mum, 35, dies from bowel cancer as Aussie rates spike in young people
A Sydney mum has died just six months after being diagnosed with a condition that is on the rise in young people.
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The husband of a “young and healthy” Sydney mum has described his heartbreak after losing his wife following a six-month battle with bowel cancer.
Georgia Gonzalez died on February 21 at the age of just 35 and leaves behind husband Xavier and their 18-month old son Finn.
Her tragic passing comes as statistics show that bowel cancer, which affects the colon and rectum, is now the deadliest form of cancer among young Australians aged 25 to 44.
“Sadly correct Georgia passed away last Friday, the 21st of February after a six month fight with bowel cancer following the diagnosis,” Xavier told news.com.au.
The young mum fought back against the cancer after initially being told her condition was “incurable”, with a GoFundMe page raising over $130,000 to help towards Georgia’s medical treatment.
“Thanks to your donations, I have been able to start working with an integrative oncology group who focus on the holistic side of treatment alongside chemotherapy,” she wrote in October.
“I am now up to my fifth round of chemotherapy. It has been up and down, with a particularly tough week this week with side effects hitting me hard.
“However, I am trying to stay positive and continue to focus on building my strength and taking things one day at a time.”
By January, Georgia had started to deteriorate as her body “struggled to keep up with the intensity” of all the treatments.
“I’ve had some amazing weeks, but also some really difficult weeks. I was lucky to be well enough for a weekend in Sydney with Mum and we had a beautiful Christmas at our place with all the family,” she wrote on January 13.
“But these past weeks have been a lot more challenging. I’ve changed the chemo I was on as I reached the maximum rounds of the first one and in doing so it has hit me very hard.
“I’ve been keeping up with my acupuncture, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and infra-red sauna, which are all helping so much.”
News of Georgia’s tragic passing has begun circulating on social media, after being shared by a friend with a large TikTok following.
“Georgia, forever in our hearts,” Tarrah Jordan captioned a recent video, which was quickly flooded with messages of condolence for the family.
“That’s such sad news, much love to you and Georgias family,” one shared.
“I’m so sorry. My family is currently also dealing with colon cancer and it’s a beast,” said another.
Australians born after 1990 have twice the risk of developing colon cancer compared to people born in 1950 and four times the risk of developing rectal cancer, according to Bowel Cancer Australia.
Similar trends are being recorded in more than 20 countries around the world.
“That’s a really alarming problem for us as a country, but also globally,” Associate Professor Daniel Buchanan from the University of Melbourne told ABC recently.
Researchers haven’t pinpointed an exact cause, but they have a few ideas.
“We’ve become increasingly more sedentary in our work life and our home life,” he said.
“But also, majorly, our diet has changed over time, and we have a lot more fatty and processed foods in our diet, processed meat but also sugary drinks, increasing the amount of sugar in our food.”
Originally published as Sydney mum, 35, dies from bowel cancer as Aussie rates spike in young people
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