Sophie Edwards has revealed the devastating effects of her bowel cancer surgery.
Single mom Adelaide, who starred on The Bachelor in 2016, was diagnosed with rectal adenocarcinoma – a form of bowel cancer – on June 14, 2022, despite a family history of the disease and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The 36-year-old manager suffered from incontinence and had to wear an adult nappy after his operation.
It recently crashed while playing in the Super Netball Grand Final in August.
While trying to use the disabled toilet at the venue, a woman questions Sophie and accuses her of faking her condition.
'She questioned what was wrong with me and it made me feel really bad,' Sophie tells Adelaide Now.
“She made me feel so small, like I wasn't a man,” he added.
'So I left. I got into an Uber on the way home and sat in my own filth and kept crying.
Sophie Edwards (pictured) has revealed the devastating effects of her bowel cancer surgery
After that bad experience, the former reality star had surgery to insert a sacral nerve stimulator, which helped manage her symptoms.
“I'm never going to be 100 percent like I was before cancer, but it's given me some sense of normalcy,” she said.
Sophie thought she had a 'stomach bug' – but was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer after visiting her doctor in 2022.
She told FEMAIL that she noticed a change in bowel habits 12 weeks before seeing a doctor, and doctors initially dismissed her symptoms.
Since then, the young mum has been on an emotional rollercoaster and says she was a 'completely different person' this time last year.
He was diagnosed with rectal adenocarcinoma, a form of rectal cancer – on June 14, 2022, despite a family history of the disease and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The 36-year-old manager suffered from incontinence and had to wear an adult nappy after his surgery.
'I needed to go to the toilet so often that I started having accidents – it was very embarrassing – and then there was a lot of severe pain,' she said.
'I was very ill; This prompted me to go to the doctor as I could not eat or drink anything.
Due to the pain her mother took her to a nearby local doctor who unfortunately dismissed her symptoms.
'The doctor told me to take gastro pills, but mum suggested a test,' said Sophie, finishing the stool sample.
Amazingly, the blood tests didn't reveal anything untoward.
When she was able to contact her regular doctor who reviewed the tests, a 'microscopic' amount of blood was found in the stool.
Sophie later visited a gastroenterologist for a CT scan which 'found something' but at the time the specialists couldn't pinpoint what it was.
The single mum from Adelaide starred on The Bachelor in 2016 (pictured)
It recently crashed while playing in the Super Netball Grand Final in August. When she tried to use the disabled toilet at the venue, a woman interrogated Sophie and accused her of faking her condition.
'Everything happened so quickly; It took 10 days from the first visit to the doctor to be diagnosed,' he said.
On June 14, 2022, a colonoscopy revealed a 7 cm tumor and confirmed it was cancerous.
When you hear the word “cancer,” you automatically think you're going to die. You never know what the road is going to show in front of you,” she said.
“I felt completely numb and overwhelmed and immediately thought of my seven-year-old son Jackson.
'Mum was completely shocked to be next to me and wished she had gone this way and not me.'
'Torture' waited to see if it had spread elsewhere – it hadn't.
'She questioned what was wrong with me and it made me feel really bad,' Sophie tells Adelaide. “She made me feel so small, like I wasn't a man,” he added. 'So I left. I got into an Uber and sat in my own filth on the way home and cried.'
She went straight into 'intense' radiation treatment.
“You don't feel the effects until you're done, and I was taking chemotherapy pills morning and night,” Sophie said.
After 25 rounds of radiotherapy, she felt 'as if acid had flowed into her abdomen' and was 'extremely painful'.
“The aftermath was terrible and terrible, but it had to be done,” he said.
During a three-week break from treatment, Sophie was admitted to hospital for five days after experiencing 'severe, unbearable pain' from her body as she processed the stress of the treatment.
Sophie did not need surgery for this type of cancer.
He is very grateful for the wonderful doctors we have in Australia and estimates he has about $40,000 in medical bills.
“I've paid about $8,000 out of pocket, and Medicare can't cover the entire medical bill,” he said.
