How finding out his wife was pregnant gave Matt Cross ‘hope’ during ‘a very dark time’

Liberal MP Matt Cross had just begun 24 weeks of chemotherapy against Stage 4 bowel cancer when his wife dropped a bombshell – she was pregnant.

Exclusive: Liberal MP Matt Cross had just begun the fight of his life against Stage 4 bowel cancer when his wife dropped a bombshell.

The Davidson MP, who for the first time has revealed just how serious his cancer was, had just started 24 weeks of chemotherapy when he received an urgent message to FaceTime Gess.

“I’m pregnant,” Gess, a tech company product marketer declared, noting that she wanted to FaceTime so “I could see his face”.

The couple cannot remember what was said after that, beyond Mr Cross thinking how the news had given him “hope” during “a very dark time”.

Speaking to promote June bowel cancer awareness month, Mr Cross – who is now in the all clear – also credited his wife for saving his life.

Liberal MP Matt Cross and his wife Gess welcomed a baby boy. Picture: Harlly & Co Studios

A blood donor since his teens, Mr Cross had booked in for a session last year when he was told he would be unable to give blood as his haemoglobin levels were too low.

His GP suggested a colonoscopy after learning there had been bowel cancer in the family, but Mr Cross was unable to get an appointment for several months.

Matt Cross in the NSW Parliament. He would take his “chemo bottle” to work on the “chemo days”. Picture: Instagram

Wanting to have one herself, Gess managed to find a doctor able to do one within days, and booked it for both of them.

While the results for Gess came back clear, it was a different story for her husband.

“I remember being woken up after the colonoscopy and being told, ‘Matt, we found cancer in your bowel’,” he said.

“I went into shock. I was in denial. The whole world stopped for me. I thought the worst. I was literally thinking, ‘I have a limited time now’.”

As he awaited the results of a CAT scan, Mr Cross kept the diagnosis private.

“It was a very lonely period. I didn’t want to share it with anyone. It was a dark time,” he said.

The cancer was initially thought to be “stage 1 or 2”. Upon surgery, a further “spot” was found that showed the cancer had just begun to spread, ruling it “stage 4”.

“You hear stage 4 and you think you’ve been given a death sentence. It was very numbing.” Mr Cross said.

Matt Cross with his wife Gess after finishing his last chemo treatment for bowel cancer. Picture: Supplied

While Mr Cross continued to work throughout his treatment – taking his “chemo bottle” to work on the “chemo days” – there were side effects.

The toxicity of the drugs meant he had to be careful around his pregnant wife on the days he was receiving the chemo, with the pair taking separate showers and using different plates.

“Sometimes we’d be sitting on the couch both feeling nauseous, me with the pregnancy and him with the chemo,” Gess said.

“I was fighting to bring a new lift into the world, while he was fighting like hell to be here.”

Mr Cross added: “I knew I had to pull through for our unborn baby. It made me absolutely determined.”

He finished his treatment in November.

In May – exactly one year after the colonoscopy and cancer diagnosis – the couple welcomed their baby boy.

Mr Cross reflected on how the outcome could have been very different had it not been for his wife’s “divine intervention”.

“Looking back, it really was a sliding doors moment,” he said.

“If I had have waited to have the colonoscopy, it could have ended up being so much harder to treat.

“It could have probably meant the end of my life.

“I owe everything to Gess.”

With bowel cancer on the rise in younger people, he urged everyone to get checked, “especially men” who could often be reluctant.

“You may or may not get symptoms – I was tired, but put it down to work,” he said.

“My blood work told a story, so giving blood is also something I encourage people to do. Maybe book it for your ­birthday.

“The government has screening tests for people 45 years and over.

“Use it. Don’t put it in the bottom drawer.”

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Originally published as How finding out his wife was pregnant gave Matt Cross ‘hope’ during ‘a very dark time’