A Dashwood, Ont., woman is sharing her battle with stage 3 colon cancer after receiving a normal result from an at-home screening test about a year before her diagnosis.
Darlene O’Rourke, 53, says she decided to complete an at-home colorectal cancer screening test after turning 50, but was also experiencing symptoms that she thought were related to perimenopause.
“I was very tired, I was bloated, foggy headed,” O’Rourke said.
The Faecal Immunochemical Test, commonly known as FIT, came back normal.
“I got it done. I literally got the copy from my doctor’s office yesterday because I wanted to see the actual date that the test results came in. It says normal in February of 2024,” she said.
But about a year later, further testing, including a colonoscopy, revealed she had advanced colon cancer.
“December 23rd, two days before Christmas, he called me to tell me I had stage three advanced colon cancer. And yeah, that was my diagnosis,” O’Rourke said.
Her cancer progressed to the point that she required emergency surgery, including an ileostomy, a procedure that creates an opening in the abdomen to allow waste to pass into an external pouch.
More recently, she underwent another major operation to remove her uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries.
Ontario Health’s ColonCancerCheck program uses FIT to screen people at average risk for colorectal cancer every two years.
The at-home test looks for small amounts of blood in a stool sample. It is intended for people who do not have symptoms and is not designed to diagnose cancer.
In a statement to CTV News, Ontario Health said a normal FIT result means blood was not detected above the test’s threshold in that particular sample at that time.
It stressed that a normal result does not guarantee a person is cancer-free. Ontario Health declined CTV News’ request for an interview.
O’Rourke is now sharing the highs and lows of her cancer journey on social media, including footage of herself ringing the bell after completing cancer treatment.
She hopes being open about her experience will encourage others to be proactive about their health.
“The more we talk, the more proactive I think people will be on it and to get themselves checked,” she said.
“And cancer is a crappy job. It’s a crappy full-time job that you don’t get paid for. So I wanted to use my platform to share all about it.”
O’Rourke has also raised $11,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society and launched a separate fundraiser to help patients cover parking costs while attending hospital appointments for cancer treatment.
She hopes sharing her story will remind others to listen to their bodies, ask questions and advocate for their health.
