Sammy Barry’s one symptom before being diagnosed with cancer

A mum has issued a warning to everyone under the age of 40 to check their history after being diagnosed with cancer after this one symptom.

Brisbane mother Sammy Barry has issued a warning to young people after she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer at 32 years old. Picture: Nigel Hallett

A Brisbane mother has urged people under the age of 40 to check their family history and talk to a doctor after she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer at 32-years-old.

It comes as experts are pushing for more awareness and research into the disease claiming the lives of young Queenslanders.

Sammy Barry said she only had one symptom – blood in her stool – which pushed her to go see a doctor in February this year.

A colonoscopy later revealed the 32-year-old had stage four bowel cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes.

She had undergone a bowel resection surgery within weeks and had now completed three of twelve rounds of chemotherapy.

“It was just totally unexpected. I am generally pretty healthy, and I eat well and exercise. I don’t drink excessively or smoke. So then to find out that I was actually incredibly sick was so shocking,” she said.

Having only just had her first daughter, Freddy, with husband Ryan Dermek, the young family also made the decision to undergo IVF to preserve and freeze embryos, all the while coping with Ms Barry’s diagnosis.

Sammy Barry and Ryan Dermek with 1-year-old daughter Freddy Barry. Photo: Georgie Brearley Photography

“That was very hard, but I suppose that is what young people who are diagnosed have to think about. They also put my ovaries to sleep when I go in for chemo,” she said.

“I call my daughter my sparkle in my day, because she just makes me laugh and smile.

“Having her has just been the best thing throughout this whole process, it is very challenging having a baby when you’re doing chemo, but she has definitely made each day better.”

Ms Barry shares a similar story to many young Queenslanders, with around 50 people under the age of 29 being diagnosed with early-onset bowel cancer every year in the state.

Over the past three decades, there has been a 266 per cent increase in bowel cancer incidence rates in Australians aged 15 to 24, and was the deadliest cancer and the seventh underlying cause of death overall for Australians aged 25 to 44.

In Australia, rates have risen from 7 per 100,000 people diagnosed (before age 50) in the year 2000, to 12 cases per 100,000 people in 2024.

Sammy Barry and Ryan Dermek with 1-year-old daughter Freddy Barry. Photo: Georgie Brearley Photography

Bowel Cancer Australia chief executive Julien Wiggins said they had previously pushed to change the screening guidelines, and were able to move the screening age from 50 to 45 in 2024. People without symptoms or family history can consult a GP from age 40.

Test kits were now available for bulk billing from age 40 to 49, and every two years until age 74.

But Mr Wiggins said he wanted to see 45-year-olds automatically added to the national screening program rather than having to opt in for it.

“But it still doesn’t provide an answer for people under the age of 40, screening is not offered at a program level, like a national bowel cancer screening program won’t offer it at this point,” he said.

A screening kit tests for blood, so if a person already had blood in their stool, then they needed to go straight to the GP.

“So it is important for those under 40 to understand the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer and have them investigated with your GP should they persist for longer than 2 weeks.”

Cancer Council Queensland head of prevention and early detection Sharyn Chin Fat said there needed to be more research into the main reason why younger people were being diagnosed with bowel cancer.

She said it was important for people under the age of 40 to check their family history and talk to a doctor about whether screening was right for them and to never ignore the symptoms.

Ms Barry was raising money for Bowel Cancer Australia, and was calling on all young Australians to be vigilant and not ignore the signs.

“The most important thing for me is to raise awareness and help to start a conversation about bowel cancer,” Ms Barry said.

“I want people to be able to recognise the symptoms and advocate for themselves so that they can get detected early.”

Originally published as Sammy Barry’s one symptom before being diagnosed with cancer